If you were unfaithful during your marriage, you might wonder whether this will affect your ability to receive alimony in a Georgia divorce. People make mistakes, and although your unfaithfulness may have ended your marriage, there is no sense in accepting needlessly excessive financial penalties during a divorce. Speak with an alimony lawyer in Georgia to assess your unique situation in more detail. 

Georgia Family Courts Consider Marital Misconduct When Awarding Alimony

You should know that courts in Georgia do consider adultery when approaching the question of alimony. This is not true in many other states, where adultery never enters into the equation during alimony proceedings. So what does this mean if you cheated on your ex before the divorce?

First of all, you should only risk losing access to alimony if your cheating behavior led directly to the divorce. If the adultery was not the deciding factor that ended the marriage, you should be able to access alimony without any issues. 

For example, you might have cheated on your spouse two years ago. If you are only divorcing now, the court will assume that your ex effectively forgave you for your mistake and gave you a second chance. 

Note that in this situation, you do not necessarily need to show that a certain amount of time has passed. As long as you can prove that your ex forgave you, alimony should still be within your grasp. For example, you might show the court a text message exchange between you and your ex. If your ex said that they were willing to continue with the marriage despite your cheating behavior, you should still get alimony. 

You might also prove that the divorce occurred because of something other than your adultery. For example, you might establish that the marriage ended due to financial stress. Perhaps you’ll show that your ex’s substance abuse issues led to the breakdown of the marriage. Whatever the case may be, these alternative reasons for divorce can help you preserve your alimony payments. 

Your Spouse Must Satisfy the Burden of Proof

Even if your ex ended the marriage specifically because of your cheating behavior, they still need to prove that these adulterous relationships actually occurred. This isn’t always easy, and your ex must show a “preponderance of evidence” to satisfy the burden of proof in the family court. In other words, they must show that the cheating “more likely than not” occurred.” If you were extremely discreet during your adulterous relationship, this evidence might not exist. 

Can a Georgia Alimony Lawyer Help Me?

If you need alimony, marital misconduct could potentially prevent you from receiving it during a Georgia divorce. That being said, this all depends on your unique situation. Even if you cheated, there may be ways to get hold of alimony and achieve financial stability. To learn more about the next potential steps, contact Lankford & Moore Law today.