- Is it a crime to break up a marriage?\u00a0<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\nIt may seem like a crime that someone has cheated with your spouse and ruined a happy marriage but cheating with a married person is not a crime. However, in some states, those who cheat with a married person can be sued for damages civilly.\r\n\r\n <\/div><\/li>How could the person cheating with your spouse respond to a lawsuit?\u00a0<\/div><\/div>The person who you think has split up a happy marriage can offer defense arguments. These might include arguments that your marriage was not happy, that the sex happened while you and your spouse were separated, or that the marriage was over before they became involved with your spouse. These responses can be difficult for a jilted spouse to hear.\r\n\r\n <\/div><\/li>Can you file an \"Alienation of Affection\" or \"Criminal Conversation\" suit if you had an open marriage?\u00a0<\/div><\/div>An alienation of affection suit alleges that marriage vows of loyalty were broken due to the actions of a third party. If you and your spouse agreed to have an open marriage, defined as one in which both spouses can have sexual relations with other partners, it will be difficult to prove in court that alienation of affection happened.\r\n\r\n <\/div><\/li>Can you sue your spouse\u2019s lover if you\u2019re separated?\u00a0<\/div><\/div>If you and your spouse are separated and your spouse began the relationship after separation, then you won\u2019t have grounds for filing an alienation of affection suit. However, a relationship during separation could be used as evidence of infidelity before separation in an alienation of affection lawsuit.\r\n\r\n <\/div><\/li>Are \"Alienation of Affection\" or \"Criminal Conversation\" suits ever successful?\u00a0<\/div><\/div>Most alienation of affection and criminal conversation suits never actually go to court. Instead, they are used as leverage in contentious divorce negotiations. However, some jilted spouses have won these adultery suits.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn a North Carolina case, a wife was awarded $9 million<\/a> by a jury after finding the woman\u2019s husband\u2019s lover culpable for the end of their marriage.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAnother case in that state saw a businessman\u2019s ex-wife winning a $30 million judgment in her suit against the other woman, who became the husband\u2019s wife.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nA husband won a $750,000 judgment<\/a> in a third notable North Carolina case after his wife had an affair with a colleague.<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/article><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Conclusion <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The dissolution of a marriage can be heartbreaking. A spouse who has been wronged by a partner may feel anger, especially if infidelity and lies were involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now the spouse who has tried to honor the marriage vows is going through the pain of divorce and may have to move, live on a lower salary, or give up custody of children at least some of the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The marriage has been ruined because a spouse has been having an affair, and the jilted partner didn\u2019t want any of these changes. They likely have financial damages and emotional pain. The spouse\u2019s lover may be to blame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In seven U.S. states, you can sue. Alienation of affection and criminal conversation lawsuits are allowed in Mississippi, South Dakota, Hawaii, Utah, North Carolina, Illinois, and New Mexico, allowing aggrieved spouses a way to sue homewreckers<\/a> for damages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While suing the person who ruined your marriage may sound like a way to find justice, consider the financial and emotional costs of an alienation of affection suit for you and your family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does your spouse\u2019s lover have money to pay damages? Did their relationship ruin the marriage, or did your ex consider the marriage to be loveless? Was the affair actually the cause of divorce? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will the alienation of affection suit end up scarring your children and ruining any chance of still being on friendly terms with your former spouse? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answers to these questions and where you live may decide whether you should sue the person your spouse was cheating with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While you may want to jump right into a suit, make sure you consider carefully before making that step\u2013 though you can drop your charges, you can\u2019t take back the decision to start it in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further Reading:<\/strong> How To Forgive Yourself for Cheating and NOT Telling In 10 Steps<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You\u2019re going through an expensive and heart-rending divorce because another person seduced the love of your life into an affair. Or you\u2019re now separated, and the person your spouse cheated with is now enjoying your partner and a better lifestyle while you\u2019re on a tight budget and raising the children alone. When there\u2019s adultery involved, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":11076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Is there a way to sue the person your spouse cheated with? The answer may surprise you...","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[123],"tags":[171],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Sue-The-Person-Your-Spouse-Cheated-With-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Sue-The-Person-Your-Spouse-Cheated-With-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Lauren Cook-McKay","author_link":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/author\/laurendivorceanswers-com\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11069"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11069"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11078,"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11069\/revisions\/11078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divorceanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}