My wife of 16 years is having an afair,which she has admitted. I am filing for divorce. Do I have to prove it.

Attorney answers (2)

1. Licensed in IN

   

   Aaron Cook

   Indianapolis Litigation Lawyer

   Contributor Level 8

   2

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   Answered November 07, 2009 06:58. My condolences on a difficult situation. It depends on why you want to prove the affair. If she admitted it, that seems to be proof enough, depending on what you want to do. Indiana is a "no fault" divorce state, so you don't have to prove that your wife is having an affair in order to get a divorce. You must demonstrate that the marriage is "irretrievably broken." Given that your wife is having an affair, and she admitted it, this may not be a terrible burden. She may also feel the marriage is irretrievably broken. If you both agree, getting a divorce authorized should not be difficult. There will be a waiting period after filing.
   
   However, if you are trying to prove the affair so that you can get an advantage in the property settlement, you should probably not expend too much effort. Indiana law technically does not take into account extramarital affairs in determining property distribution. It might be relevant if she is jet-setting across the country and burning all of the marital assets so that you don't get them. Nevertheless, property division is given wide discretion in the trial court, so an affair, while not legally relevant, may be pertinent in the judge's mind when determining who gets what property (e.g. may not want to award the house to a wife living with another man).
   
   In terms of property division, it's best (generally) to negotiate a settlement. Depending on the complexity of your marital property, you should consider hiring a lawyer. If you wife has hired a lawyer, you should probably hire one as well.

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2. 

   Carlos Gonzalez

   New York Criminal Defense Attorney

   Contributor Level 17

   1

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   Answered November 01, 2009 16:18. While I do not practice in your State, generally the Court will hear all pertinent information, and to a greater degree there will be flexibility in the type of evidence let in. So there may be a good chance that whatever type of evidence you have may be let in, or that your own beliefs may be permitted... generally, the Court does look at all the facts in making its decisions and will take this information into consideration, whatever you are able to provide will serve to a greater or lesser degree depending on the certainty of the evidence. For example your opinion your spouse is cheating is much less valuable than a video tape...

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