Even when you know it’s the right thing to do pursuing a divorce can be difficult. If your spouse has cheated on you, it’s important to understand how this can impact the outcome of your divorce. Please continue reading as we explore how cheating can impact alimony awards in New York and why connecting with a Garden City Divorce Lawyer is in your best interest.
How is Alimony Determined in New York?
Alimony, also known as spousal support, is designed to address the financial disparities that may exist between divorcing spouses. The primary goal is to provide financial support to the spouse who is economically dependent to ensure they can maintain the same lifestyle they were accustomed to during the marriage after the split.
It’s a common misconception that alimony is automatically granted to the lower-earning spouse. However, in reality, a dependent spouse must request it and the court needs to examine various factors to determine whether this financial assistance is necessary on a case-by-case basis. These factors, include but are not limited to:
- The age and health of each spouse
- The length of the marriage
- The income and earning capacity of each spouse
- The financial and domestic contributions each spouse made to the marriage
- Whether one spouse sacrificed their career to support the other
- The current job market
- The standard of living established during the marriage
- The tax consequences
- Any other factors deemed relevant by the court
How Does Cheating Impact Alimony Awards?
New York, like most states, recognizes both no-fault and fault-based divorces. As such, if you have discovered your spouse has been unfaithful, you can file for divorce based on these grounds. However, it’s important to note that pursuing a fault-based divorce will take longer to resolve as you will need to prove the specific grounds you have cited. In a no-fault divorce, you only need to prove that the marriage has been irretrievably broken down for at least six months.
Despite not being the primary factor in determining alimony, New York courts can consider adultery in certain situations, particularly if the adulterous spouse used marital funds to support the extramarital affair or the infidelity negatively impacts a spouse’s ability to be self-supporting. Essentially, the court can consider cheating when making alimony determinations if you can demonstrate it significantly impacted your financial situation.
You should note that the court does not use alimony as a means of punishing a spouse for marital misconduct. Rather, they will asses whether their fault in the marriage has impacted you economically. If this is the case, the judge may compensate you through your alimony award for their misuse of marital funds. Additionally, they may even award a larger portion of marital assets during property distribution to reimburse you for your spouse’s wrongful spending.
At The Law Offices of Eyal Talassazan, P.C., we are prepared to guide you through this complex process and fight for the outcome you deserve. Connect with our firm today to learn more about what we can do for you during these tough times.
