There are still laws prohibiting adultery, but they are dated and not used. Though adultery can cause a divorce, Wisconsin is a no-fault divorce state, so the only grounds necessary for divorce is for one party to say the marriage is irretrievably broken.
Is adultery a crime in Wisconsin? Technically yes, but it is rarely if ever enforced through the criminal courts. It is mostly dealt with in family court. Under Wisconsin law adultery and infidelity, which are the same, should only affect your case financially or if you have minor children, but even then, only if it is relevant.
Wisconsin state statutes and case law define what is legally relevant in family court. It is a complex legal analysis that requires experienced attorneys to understand, advise, and litigate.
Under the law, infidelity is most commonly relevant financially. This would be if the infidelity resulted in the use of marital assets (funds, assets, income) for non-marital purposes. That comes up in the property division process and is called ‘marital waste’.
If one spouse is spending marital assets on a cheating partner such as in the use of trips, dinners, gifts etc. that is likely waste. However, for something to be considered marital waste in your case, you can prove it. Marital waste is not exclusive to infidelity as it can also come from gambling or other actions that use marital funds for a non-marital purpose.
You have to understand how the Court looks at your assets and income if you file for divorce. The court starts with the assumption that all assets a couple has are jointly and equally owned also known as marital assets. Therefore if one spouse ‘wastes’ marital assets the other spouse may be entitled to recover half of those wasted funds.
There are presumptions under the law that make it easier to prove waste within one year prior to the date of filing the action for divorce. If you seek to recover wasted assets prior to the one-year look-back period, the burden is more difficult, but not impossible. It also depends heavily on when the marital waste became known or should have become known. If you wait too long, you may lose the chance to recover wasted funds.
The other way infidelity is relevant in family court is if there are minor children involved. If the cheating spouse desires to have their new partner involved with the children, and the other parent objects, the cheating partner will become relevant, to say the least.
Who will be around your child? Who really is that person? Can you trust them with your child? There is a process of court involvement that looks into these matters. The key part of this process is where the guardian ad litem looks into the best interests of your child. This is a standard part of the child custody process in divorce.
Though cheating or infidelity can have a great impact on why a divorce begins, legally it does not impact alimony in Wisconsin. Alimony is based on a list of factors based on the Wisconsin state statutes such as the length of the marriage and the earning capacity of each party.
There is the law, but then there is the reality of how relationships work. When one spouse cheats, it always affects the divorce whether the laws say it should or not. More complex separations make having an attorney only more important. If you want an attorney who is both an expert in the law and understands the emotional complexities of a divorce, call Divergent Family Law.
In family court, there is no difference between adultery and infidelity as it refers to the same thing. Whether either word is used, it cannot legally be considered in divorce proceedings unless the behavior creates a relevant issue such as marital waste.
Wisconsin courts still view assets as marital property, no matter the reason or cause for the separation. The two issues are not legally tied together, so yes both parties still split the assets even if one cheated.
Yes. But it is almost never criminally charged even when provable. The law banning infidelity is dated and not enforced.
The Wisconsin State Legislature passed a law which is still on the books, like many other dated laws that are not actively enforced.
