Having an affair will not be held against someone in a divorce in Arizona. Arizona is a “No fault” divorce state, what this means is that acts of adultery, gambling, drinking, or any other reason that caused the divorce can’t be taken into effect when the Court is dividing property and debt. However, one can be liable for a waste claim during a divorce.

What this means is if someone wasted funds on something that didn’t benefit the community the Court can compel the wasteful party to make an equalization payment to the non-wasting party. This is common when people who have affairs are found to have purchased items, trips or other belongings for the person they’re having an affair with.  During a divorce the Court is very liberal in defining what benefits the community. Waste claims are hard to prove and generally comes down to a he said-she said argument. Evidence and a well-defined argument during the divorce can be the difference between winning the waste claim and losing it.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that in Arizona custodial rights (now called legal decision making) are awarded to parents in accordance with the “best interests of the child.” If you or your former spouse are seeing someone else, that’s your own business. But if someone else moves in after the divorce, they need to be able to create a stable home life, and need to get along with the child. If they have children, and those children are part of the household then they need to get along with the child also.  All of these factors and more go into the Court’s reckoning of the best interests of the child.

Call Enholm Law at (602) 889-6273 today if you need to talk about a waste claim or a divorce.