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posted on 4/17/22

Divorce is a painful process regardless of the circumstances, but when infidelity is involved, it can truly be an emotionally torturous process. The spouse who was cheated on may feel betrayed after years of building a life together, and they may want to rake their spouse over the coals in court. In many ways, the court is on the side of the spouse who was cheated on. Illinois is an equitable distribution state. This means that instead of automatically giving each spouse a 50% share of all marital assets, the judge is entitled to consider a number of factors intended to determine a truly equitable share. There are other ways that infidelity can come into play in the distribution of marital assets, as well, such as where marital assets were spent by one spouse on their paramour.

How are Gifts to Paramours Treated During a Divorce?

The most important determination with regard to assets during a divorce is whether property and assets are marital or separate. While you may think that gifts made to a paramour fall outside the purview of marital property, that is not true if the gifts were made or purchased with marital assets. Even if you used your own money, earned at your own job, to purchase gifts for a paramour, that can constitute marital waste, because any money earned during the course of the marriage (whether from your own job or otherwise) constitutes marital property. A successful finding of marital waste allows the total amount spent by the cheating spouse on their paramour to be deducted from their share of the assets. Additionally, in some cases, the paramour may even be required by the court to return the assets or equivalent value that was gifted to them from the marital estate.

The Model Family

In our model family, the wife has an alleged paramour to whom she gifted a $10,000 Rolex watch and brought on lavish vacations. In order to claim marital waste, her husband will have to prove that infidelity occurred in court. If he is able to prove that his wife had a sexual relationship with the co-worker to whom she made these gifts and expenditures, the wife will not be entitled to the value of these expenditures and they will be deducted from her share of the divorce settlement and given instead to the husband. For instance, if the court determines that the wife is guilty of infidelity and provided approximately $20,000 in gifts and vacations to her paramour, that $20,000 will instead go to the husband. If the wife took on additional debt to pay for expenses related to her paramour, the husband will not be responsible for this debt.

Contact Glasgow & Olsson

If you are considering a divorce, you may be concerned about the financial impact that a divorce will have on you and your assets. The experienced divorce attorneys at Glasgow & Olsson in Schaumburg, Illinois, can help. Contact Glasgow & Olsson today to schedule a consultation.