Up until a few decades ago, a cheating spouse may have stood a chance of losing it all when their ex filed to end their marriage. Ever since many states, including California, have instituted a no-fault divorce, it’s made it where a spouse’s adultery has little to no effect on how alimony or custody awards are decided.
When a judge makes an order, their responsibility is to make decisions that are in the child’s best interests. A judge ultimately will consider a variety of factors including a child’s gender, how emotionally developed they are, their security, their parents’ mental and physical health and even the child’s wishes when making a decision about whom to place the child with.
Although there’s nothing written in the laws that explicitly says that judges should let a parent’s infidelity affect their custody decisions, it’s possible for their own personal biases against adulterous spouses to impact the orders that they make.
A mom or dad’s infidelity may indirectly affect custody decisions in other ways as well. If a judge is concerned about the caliber of people that your child may be around while visiting the parent who engaged in infidelity, then they may see it in their best interest not to spend as much time with them.
There are no two more contentious issues in a divorce more than property division and child custody. The uncertainty that comes with not having the financial backing of a spouse or not having an opportunity to witness all the special moments in their child’s life can make for very heated custody battles. Parents in Riverside should ally with a child custody attorney who is focused on protecting you and your children in such matters.