The Financial Cost of Infidelity in Divorce

Earlier this month, the Ashley Madison customer list hack story unfolded like a compelling summerbeach novel.  The imagined made-for-TV aftermath is equally fascinating to people sitting on the sidelines–wronged wives calling their divorce lawyers and demanding compensation and punitive property settlements for the suffering and humiliation caused by their cheating husbands!

Reality, however, is not as dramatic, at least in not in Illinois.  Here, financial outcomes in divorce cases are not determined by moral imperatives.  Simply put, bad conduct like infidelity by one spouse does not legally entitle the wronged spouse to a larger property settlement or additional financial support.

While at first blush this may seem “unfair”, practical considerations underlie the law.  Proving infidelity can be difficult and courts cannot equitably and objectively quantify the financial compensation requested by a wronged spouse.  For example, does a one night stand merit a smaller settlement than an ongoing love affair? If the answer is yes, then how much smaller should the settlement be?  And what if the wronged spouse considered divorce for years before the infidelity? What if he or she also cheated? Do these facts offset against the amount he or she would otherwise receive? These are some of the very difficult issues courts would need to decide if bad acts like infidelity entitled a spouse to more financial compensation.

Although Illinois Courts do not have the authority to award additional property or support for infidelity, cheating spouses might end up paying in other ways.  Often, the emotional distress experienced by a wronged spouse will cause protracted litigation and, as a result, both parties will incur additional legal fees in retaliation for the infidelity.  In settlement negotiations, infidelity is often used as leverage to obtain a favorable outcome for the other spouse, especially when the cheating spouse does not want his or her infidelity to become public knowledge.