Divorce Adultery Child Custody

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Adultery implies that one spouse is betraying the other. It obviously causes considerable anger, pain and hurt. The result of these feelings is that the innocent partner tries his/her level best to cause pain to the adulterer during the divorce process.

Let us consider that the adulterous parent has introduced his/her non marital partner into the lives of his/her children. Then, the children become aware that this parent and the non marital partner are lovers. In this case, it is obvious that the adulterous parent has risked the custody and possession of the children. So, it is recommended that an adulterous parent must introduce his/her non marital partner in the lives of his/her children only after the following.

• The divorce is complete
• The relationship between the adulterous parent and non marital partner is well established

Varying approaches regarding Divorce Adultery Child Custody

The temperament of the judge determines the approach of each court towards issues pertaining to adultery. Usually, the following three types of variations are observed.

• Some judges loathe people who practice adultery. They simply hate the manner in which adultery impacts marriage. Such judges do not need a second thought to decide that child custody must never be awarded to an adulterer

• Certain judges do not care about the issue of adultery. They reason that the circumstances that resulted in adultery also resulted in divorce. The outlook of such judges is that the couple was not getting along well. Consequently, one member filed for divorce and the other member became engaged in adultery. Thus, the judge thinks this should not impact child custody

• There are some judges, who adopt an approach that is a medium level method. The judge tries to determine the status of the marriage before adultery was found out. This gives rise to two types of situations
  • The partners were happily married and had positive plans about their married life. However, when adultery was discovered, it became the reason for divorce. Then, the judge decides that the adulterer is at fault and rules accordingly
  • While the partners were separated or the divorce proceeding was in progress, the adultery took place. Then, the judge does not give much weight to adultery

In any issue of child custody, the court aims at delivering 'the best interests of the child.' When adultery is involved, the outcome of child custody is usually dependent on three factors as follows.

• The personal bias of the judge
• The unique facts in each custody case
• The laws in the specific state

A majority of states demand concrete proof that the adulterous behavior of a parent has definitely harmed the child or is likely to harm the child if this parent is awarded custody.

There are instances where the child is placed in abashing situations or under tremendous stress due to the adultery of his/her parent. This is a negative point against the adulterous parent during the determination of child custody.

Some parents have a cautious affair while their marriage is in progress and the child is not affected by this. Then, adultery is not an important issue that would affect child custody.

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