PA Divorce My Spouse Cheated Do I Get More Money

Cheating and divorce often go hand in hand. Infidelity, with all its emotional repercussions, breaks the basic tenet of civil and religious marriages that label the act adultery. But if one spouse cheats, does it mean the other spouse can get more money if they divorce in Pennsylvania?

In short, no. But then again, maybe a little.

Back in 1980, Pennsylvania became a “no-fault” state. Gone are the days when a person had to prove and establish that the other party violated the marriage contract first, thereby receiving some sort of legal high ground. Instead, the current Pennsylvania Divorce Code provides that it “Give primary consideration to the welfare of the family rather than the vindication of private rights or the punishment of matrimonial wrongs.”

In other words, the state exited the blame business. When considering equitable distribution of assets in a divorce, Pennsylvania judges are not allowed to consider who cheated, who broke a promise, or otherwise assign fault. Even criminal sentences and incarceration do not affect the basic premise of the Commonwealth that it must “Effectuate economic justice between parties who are divorced or separated.”

That said, marital misconduct – by either or both parties – is 1 out of 17 factors Pennsylvania courts consider when deciding the issue of alimony. If the Court has decided to award alimony due to the circumstances of the parties, marital infidelity might come into play in favor of a larger or longer alimony payment.

This is a sketchy “what if,” though. A wiser course would be to note a partner’s infidelity and talk to your divorce attorney about it. Cheating is nothing to bank on, at least not under current Pennsylvania Code.

Rather than waste one’s time trying to find a way to “punish” a spouse for cheating, your time would be better spent unearthing all the financial and legal documents you will need to prove earning and asset history.

A common saying is that the devil is in the details; for the careful, recordkeeping spouse, the money might be in the details as well.