Child Support and Child Custody

There is not a clear answer to this question, because it depends on the case. A judge will look at your case and the best interests of your child when they determine support and custody arrangements. Your affair may or may not affect a judge’s decision regarding child support and custody, depending on whether or not it has a negative impact on the child. Your affair can affect your child support if your infidelity is what causes you to lose your custody battle with your partner.

It can also affect your support and custody if you have wasted any kind of marital assets on your affair. If you have distributed, wasted or destructed money or property that was marital property, a judge may have you pay even more child support to make up for your lack of financial spousal support during your marriage. If your affair has caused a negative effect on your relationship with your child or your ex-spouse, a judge might rule against your favor regarding support and custody.

No-fault divorce laws do exist in every state, but adultery can be a factor in certain child custody cases. If the person who was unfaithful did so in such a way that the child was aware of it or witnessed it, a judge could rule that they were an unfit parent and take custody away or raise support payment amounts. During mediation and division of assets and child custody battle, adultery can be a very real negotiation factor. If the cheating parent feels guilty for their infidelity, they may be more inclined to give away things to help alleviate their guilt. Male partners who are unfaithful are more likely to allow their female partners sole custody of their children and pay more child support during mediation.

As long as you have not carried out your affair in front of your child or children, it should not play any role in determining custody rights. Having a new partner living with you when you have custody of your child is frowned upon by many family law judges. Because most judges are so against the idea of prematurely introducing a new romantic partner to children, if such an event happens to occur during the duration of your divorce, he or she may make a custody determination based on the fact you were so quick to jump to a new partner without considering the best interest of your children. If you have questions about a specific case, contact a lawyer, like a Child Custody Lawyer in Arlington, TX, today.

Thank you to the experts at Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC, for their contributions to family law.