People preparing for divorce often look for evidence of misconduct. Some may go so far as to hire private investigators to prove that a spouse has been unfaithful.
Many people expect that evidence of marital misconduct can benefit them during divorce proceedings. Then they go to great lengths to document the improper behavior of a spouse in the hope of securing a more favorable outcome during property division or child custody proceedings.
How much weight do the courts give to proof of fault during divorce proceedings?
Fault generally has minimal impact on divorce
Many people may want the vindication that comes from the courts agreeing that their spouse was to blame for the decline of a marital relationship. However, no-fault divorces do not lead to a judgment about fault. Even when one spouse files for divorce on fault-based grounds, the courts generally do not consider marital misconduct when making custody and property division decisions.
There are a few exceptions to this rule. In cases where the misconduct is domestic violence, proof of abuse can alter what a judge believes is in the best interest of the children in the family.
In cases where marital misconduct may have involved the misuse of marital income or shared resources, such as when one spouse siphons income to commit adultery or feed their drug addiction, their misuse of marital funds could influence financial decisions during divorce litigation. As a general rule, fault has minimal influence on the outcome of a divorce.
Reviewing the misconduct of the spouse with an attorney can help people determine if waiting to gather evidence of misconduct is a worthwhile investment. With some rare exceptions, misconduct rarely has a significant impact on property division outcomes.