**SPONSORED CONTENT BY DIVORCE INC.**

Adulterers and adulteresses fair better in divorces than one might assume. I often hear some version of the following: My wife cheated, so I get the kids. My husband cheated, so I get the house. My wife cheated, so she cannot get alimony, right?

Wrong. Adultery is not the nuclear bomb of divorce law. It remains a ground for divorce in Tennessee, but it has far less impact on the outcome of the case than it once did.

Even the most shocking adulteress can be a good parent. The custody statute does not include anything about extramarital affairs. If it does not affect the best interests of the child, it has zero relevance. Of course, if the parent parades his or her affair in lurid detail to the child, or if the parent exposes the child to a questionable paramour, these missteps could be construed as poor parenting.

Likewise, cheating is not a factor when the court divides marital assets and debts. The Tennessee statute addressing the division of marital property states that “fault” is not to be considered when dividing property. The guilty have just as much of a chance at taking the house.

Alimony, on the other hand, may be affected by adultery. Your divorce judge may take fault into consideration when awarding or denying alimony. It is not, however, a guarantee of alimony for a disadvantaged spouse, and it is most certainly not a complete bar to spousal support. The court may consider adultery as one of the factors in deciding whether to award a disadvantaged spouse alimony. Other factors will often overshadow a spouse’s inappropriate hook-ups. On the other hand, a spouse cohabitating with another person will be presumed to have no need of alimony unless he or she can prove otherwise.

Of course, none of this is to say what actually may happen in your case. Your attorney can advise you and bring the appropriate attention to your spouse’s infidelities.

By Daniel P. Bryant, Attorney at Law

Daniel P. Bryant is an associate attorney in the Clarksville offices of Divorce Incorporated, Tennessee’s Family Law Firm. If you have questions or an idea for an article, Mr. Bryant is available at 931-896-2400 or dbryant@divorceincorp.com.