West Newsmagazine 6-14-17

2 I
June 14, 2017
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
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WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
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Does an affair matter in divorce?
Stange Law Firm, PC
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With the advent of no fault divorce, many
think that fault no longer matters. As it relates
to divorce, the viewpoint is that an affair does
not matter at all.
Some think that courts will look at it and give
it no weight. In the end, the view is everything
is going to be divided in half anyway. Child support
and maintenance is going to be what it is.
And in terms of child custody, many think an
affair is irrelevant.
Is this correct? The reality is that this viewpoint
is not accurate in many states. It is true
that to get divorced, parties do not have to
show fault for a divorce to be granted. Prior
to the advent of no fault divorce, parties would
have to show fault like an affair, abandonment,
emotional cruelty, violence or some other fault
of some kind to get divorced.
But with no fault divorce, that is no longer
required. The exact language varies by state,
but generally speaking, parties simply have to
show that a marriage is irretrievably broken to
get divorced.
However in terms of marital property and debt
division, and spousal maintenance (alimony),
many states still allow the conduct of the parties
as one of the factors in terms of making that
determination. States like Missouri and Kansas
fall into that category. However, Illinois excludes
fault as a consideration by statute.
But in terms of child custody, an affair could
still have an effect in most states, as long as it
has a bearing on the best interests of the children.
In cases where an affair can be pointed
to having a negative impact on the children and
their custody or parenting time with either parent,
an affair could still be looked at for custody
and parenting time determination.
Thus, parties who think an affair will have
no effect whatsoever are potentially missing
the mark. It is true that many judges will
give little weight to an affair (even in states
that allow it to be considered). At the same
time, an affair is not completely irrelevant in
every case. In some cases, an affair can ultimately
impact the result of the case. This is
especially true when the affair had a financial
impact on the marital estate.
If you are going through a divorce, Stange
Law Firm, PC can help. We have lawyers
available to help you rebuild your life.
When you retain our firm, you will receive
access to your case through Your Case
Tracker in addition to receiving your lawyer’s
personal cell phone number. Call today to
schedule your confidential consultation.
West County Office
16024 Manchster Road,, Suite 103
Ellisville, MO 63011
St. Louis County Office
120 South Central Ave., Suite 450
Clayton, MO 63105
855-805-0595
www.stangelawfirm.com
“Experience, Focus and Vision
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be based solely upon advertisements. Kirk Stange is respsonsible
for the content. Principal place of business 120 South Central Ave,
Suite 450, Clayton, MO 63105. Neither the Supreme Court of Missouri/Illinois
nor The Missouri/Illinois Bar reviews or approves
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not permit us to advertise that we specialize in a particular field
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areas of interest and generally are the types of cases which we are
involved. It is not intended to suggest specialization in any areas of
law which are mentioned The information you obtain in this advertisement
is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should
consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.
We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and
electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client
relationship. Past results afford no guarantee of future results and
every case is different and must be judged on its merits.
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