What is marital misconduct?

Marital misconduct is a type of fault-based divorce, which is a divorce based on the fault of the spouse. In Massachusetts, marital misconduct is defined as an action that occurs during the marriage that breaks the trust of the marriage, such as adultery, abuse, or desertion. Marital misconduct also includes an intentional act that causes emotional or physical harm to the other spouse or to the children of the marriage. Under Massachusetts law, marital misconduct is considered one of the grounds for filing for a divorce. In order to receive a divorce based on marital misconduct, the spouse must prove to the court that the other spouse committed an act that was so egregious that the marriage could not be saved. In other words, the actions of the offending spouse must have been so harmful to the marriage that there is no hope for either spouse to reconcile. In a divorce based on marital misconduct, the court may consider the actions of the guilty spouse when making decisions about child custody, alimony, and the division of property. For instance, the court may be more likely to award primary custody to the innocent spouse, or could require the guilty spouse to pay more alimony. In general, it is important to note that marital misconduct is a fault-based divorce and not all divorces in Massachusetts are based on fault.

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What is marital misconduct?

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