Adultery is one of the top reasons that people choose to file a divorce. It isn’t always possible to forgive someone and move on after such a significant betrayal. As someone who feels wronged after their spouse cheated, you may have a desire for justice.
However, the Wyoming family courts won’t necessarily be the place for you to seek retribution against an adulterous spouse. For the most part, adultery will have little impact on your divorce proceedings.
Do you have to prove adultery if you want to divorce because of it?
Wyoming is a no-fault divorce state, which means you don’t have to have grounds for a divorce, nor do you have to prove adultery.
Will adultery affect asset division?
If you have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that penalizes a spouse for cheating, provided that you have evidence of the affair, it’s possible that the adultery could influence how the courts divide your assets.
In most cases, it is unlikely that an affair will have much, if any, impact on how the courts split up your possessions. They will simply apply the equitable distribution standard to your marital assets to find a fair way to divide them.
In fact, even if your spouse wasted marital assets by purchasing expensive gifts for the other person or renting hotel rooms, that dissipation of marital wealth might not influence how the courts split your possessions. Wyoming law does not mandate that the courts consider such dissipation during asset division.
Does adultery influence custody determinations?
Custody of children is a very delicate issue. The courts need to try their best to uphold the best interest of the kids, which can be difficult when parents are emotional and fighting.
Although there are issues, like abuse or addiction, that could convince the courts to give one parent sole custody for the protection of the children, adultery typically doesn’t factor into custody decisions. For the most part, the Wyoming courts will likely ignore adultery when deciding how to set the terms for a pending divorce.
