Divorce Myth #3: “An Affair Impacts Alimony”

Florida is a no fault state; this means that judges generally do not care who did what to whom, unless there is a child involved.  Although the alimony statute does list adultery as a factor, it rarely, if ever, has an impact on support payments.  Adultery may have an impact on property distribution.

In Florida Statute 61.075, a spouse may receive a greater portion of the marital estate if the other spouse somehow dissipated assets that belong to the marriage. Dissipation means that one party used assets belonging to both parties for a purpose other than to benefit the marriage.  An example of dissipation would be using money to fund an adulterous relationship, drug abuse, gambling (if not mutual), or other vices that may not be shared by the parties.  In general, the courts do not give much weight to all of the bad acts that occurred during the marriage, unless it was to the financial detriment of the other party.