Does Florida Have a Jolene Law?
In insurance claims and lawsuits arising from car accidents, the insurance companies or the court will always decide who is at fault for the accident. Sometimes one driver bears all of the fault, and in some cases, each driver bears a share of liability. The insurance company or court can even decide that some or all of the fault belongs to a third party, such as a city that failed to maintain its roads, a car manufacturer that sold cars with defective parts, or a bar that sold alcohol to a drunk driver. Your divorce might be a train wreck, but it is not a car accident. In Florida divorce cases, fault does not matter. If you cannot reach a property division agreement, the court will look at each spouse’s financial situation and decide on the fairest way to divide the couple’s marital assets and debts. It assumes that all property acquired during the marriage belongs to both spouses, except inherited assets and personal injury settlements. Whose fault it was that the marriage broke up is not an issue. The divorce court does not care whether it was your fault, your ex’s fault, or the fault of a third party such as your ex’s mother or the person your ex cheated with. If you need help focusing on a path forward from your divorce instead of fixating on your anger toward the person who ruined your marriage, contact a Boca Raton divorce lawyer.
Can You Sue Your Ex-Spouse’s Affair Partner for Breaking Up Your Marriage?
You might have seen the recent news story about a woman who filed a lawsuit in civil court against the woman who had an affair with the plaintiff’s husband, eventually leading to the plaintiff’s divorce. The court ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff $1.7 million in damages to compensate her for the financial losses she suffered because of the divorce, plus noneconomic damages for the emotional distress of her husband’s betrayal. The judge cited the state’s “Jolene law,” which states that, if someone else causes the irretrievable breakdown of your relationship with your spouse, you can sue that person for damages.
That case happened in North Carolina, not in Florida. The Sunshine State has its share of cheaters, but it does not have a Jolene law to protect you from them. Your best hope is to assure yourself that wellbeing is the best revenge and to emerge from your divorce with enough financial stability that you can live your best life, even if it means living on a smaller budget than you had during your marriage. This might mean some tense moments during mediation as you insist on keeping the marital assets that you need the most. It might even mean that your case goes to trial.
Contact Schwartz | White About Divorce After Adultery
A South Florida family law attorney can help you get a fair share of marital property after your spouse left you for another partner. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
tyla.com/news/crime/jolene-law-brenay-kennard-tiktoker-cheating-lawsuit-909819-20251113
