A Columbus Ohio Divorce Lawyer article about adultery as an issue in an Ohio divorce.
- In Ohio, adultery (infidelity) is one of the statutory grounds for divorce. Incompatibility, gross neglect of duty, extreme cruelty, and habitual drunkeness are also grounds for divorce in Ohio. None of these grounds are more legally significant than any of the others – they will all suffice to allow the court to find that there are grounds to terminate the marriage.
- In Ohio, as in most states, adultery is not legally relevant to custody matters. In the eyes of the law, a person can be a bad spouse and that has nothing to do with whether they are a bad parent.
- In Ohio, adultery has no legal relevance to the division of property. A court will not give one spouse more property than they other in order to punish the spouse who has been unfaithful. In Ohio the primary purpose of the divorce court is to divide things and end things.
- In Ohio, one spouse’s commision of adultery does not automatically mean that the other spouse will be awarded the marital home in the divorce. If the one spouse asks the other to leave as a result of adultery, the faithful spouse will not be any more entitled to have the house than he or she would have been if adultery were not an issue.
- In Ohio, just because the marriage is ending after adultery, that does not mean a court will fail to consider shared parenting.
- Once the marriage is over, the court will rarely enter an order requiring separation between the “object of affection” and the children. Unless a court finds a parent unfit, that parent will have the right to make their own child care arrangements.
- When one spouse is leaving a marriage because of adultery, the other spouse may unnecessarily prolong divorce litigation in order to maintain a connection. While adultery is not legally relevant, it is not unusual for divorce litigation to confuse the feelings surrounding infidelity with the legal issues surrounding the end of the marriage.
- If one of the parties alienates the children by disclosing the other parent’s infidelity, or worse, by stating the infidelity as the reason for the end of the marriage, a court may find that the disclosing parent is unable to put the needs of the children before their own need for vindication. A pattern of such behavior, with no regard to the strain it causes on the children, could result in custody of the children being awarded to the party who committed adultery, rather than the party who chose to discuss the adultery with the children.
- In Ohio, the court does not care if you were a good spouse to the unfaithful party, and you did not cause the end of the marriage. The court only cares that the marriage is ending and things have to be ended and divided. You will not be awarded any more spousal support (alimony) than you would received otherwise, and the court is not going to order the leaving party to “find a way” to let you maintain the exact same lifestyle that you lived before the end of the marriage. The court is going to expect you to live as if the income available to the parties is now being divided among two households.
- Be honest with your lawyer about infidelity – it is never a good thing for your lawyer to find out about any relevant information by surprise.
J says
Can I sue my husband and his mistress in Ohio while I’m living in the Philippines
J says
HUNDRED of programs & websites can affirm adultery not being an issue in parental rights… That doesn’t make it any less wrong… I fail to be persuaded.
Anonymous says
I didn’t have no kids with her, I need the divorce paper from her or I gonna payed it and she gonna pay for the car also.
Anonymous says
My wife and I been married for 7 years, she going in my country haiti for a month, when she coming back, my family call me back home, they tell me your cheat on you, I didn’t believe it, I was pick her up at the airport, her face look like she was doing something, she was sleep with me like she think, she gonna give me a baby is not even mine, after 2 days she tell me I am pregnant, I said ok lets go to the hospital, we go and the doctor tell me the test, she said she was pregnant 2 weeks ago, she even had 2 weeks here in US, shad only 2 days, she been pregnant for 2 weeks, I tell her who’s the baby’s daddy, she said I don’t wanna tell you cause I don’t you leave me, I think when she say that on my mine I said are you crazy woman, I tell her yes I’m gonna leave you, I tell her I need a divorce, I call my family and her mom, I said to her mom, me and your daughter we not together no more, I spend all I had on her, that’s what she gave me, she accept for the divorce, she said she gonna give me that divorce, she had my car I had on my name, she go away but I really don’t where she is, she didn’t payed that car 1year and 6months, she mess up my credit, her friend tell she go to new york with your car, I pend money to go over there to get the car back to ohio, I had accident on my job, I loose my job I couldn’t pay for 2 car, the bank took the car, and she’s working she can pay for that car now loose it, that car is on my name she just a co-signer, now I didn’t have that money to pay back 16,000 dollars to chase bank, only thing they can do arrest me, I really don’t have that money to payed back, I don’t, I don’t where she is now, she can my name to get staff, we been not live together for almost 4 years now, I don’t no money, I need help I need to move on not with her, with someone who love me for me, please this is my cell # 614-360-7249 please help me, I didn’t do nothing wrong to her, but I need her to payed for the car and I need that divorce paper… Thank you