Can the adulterer be sued?

[insomniac]

In Ontario, is it possible to sue the adulterer (the third party) for psychological damage?

[logicalvelocity]

In Ontario, is it possible to sue the adulterer (the third party) for psychological damage?

Your kidding right? It takes two to tango!

By the way, welcome to the forum!

[standing on the sidelines]

in a happy marriage, there is no cheating. If your spouse decided the grass was greener on the other side then try and sue him/her, that is where you should focus your attention. Do not waste money and time on something that would get thrown out of court.

[insomniac]

Your kidding right? It takes two to tango!

By the way, welcome to the forum!

My wife has not cheated on me, and I doubt she ever would. I was just curious to know if a third party, who knew full well that a woman was married, would be even partially liable for breaking up a marriage and perhaps inflicting psychological harm on the one not doing the cheating. I agree that it takes two to tango, and if the two cheaters trample an innocent bystander while their "dancing" they should be held accountable.

[FL_Needs_To_Change]

Generally the reasons for the divorce request are not a deciding factor nor can one state the behaviour of a party for any monetary claim IE SS or asset splitting.

Basically the courts want to ensure that this is not a whimsical decision on one party’s part, thus the waiting period and length of time to process an application for divorce. Having been adulterous would clearly show a court that there are irreconcilable differences and a divorce is indeed warranted.

Even a simple matter of falling out of love is grounds enough for divorce BUT the courts prefer the 1 year waiting period to be sure regardless if it was an amicable split or other.

[NoahJenda]

I think insomniac is asking whether it's possible, aside from a divorce, to conduct a civil suit for psychological harm. Theoretically you could sue just about anybody for anything, but such a suit is not likely to succeed. The closest thing to that is a recent decision where a court awarded a continuation of spousal support because the plaintiff was so distraught by her husband's adultery years ago that she was unable to return to work. But, to be clear, the support continuation was because of her inability to return to work, not punishment for the husband's conduct.

A divorce, however, can be granted on the grounds of a) a one-year separation, b) adultery, and c) cruelty. The one year separation grounds is the one usually used. I'm told almost no one gets a divorce based on the other two grounds. But, even if a court granted a divorce on grounds b) and c), the court would not fault the defendant when deciding property division and issues with respect to the children.

[insomniac]

I think insomniac is asking whether it's possible, aside from a divorce, to conduct a civil suit for psychological harm. Theoretically you could sue just about anybody for anything, but such a suit is not likely to succeed. The closest thing to that is a recent decision where a court awarded a continuation of spousal support because the plaintiff was so distraught by her husband's adultery years ago that she was unable to return to work. But, to be clear, the support continuation was because of her inability to return to work, not punishment for the husband's conduct.

A divorce, however, can be granted on the grounds of a) a one-year separation, b) adultery, and c) cruelty. The one year separation grounds is the one usually used. I'm told almost no one gets a divorce based on the other two grounds. But, even if a court granted a divorce on grounds b) and c), the court would not fault the defendant when deciding property division and issues with respect to the children.

A big thank you to NoahJenda for answering my original question. I am disappointed to hear that the choice of one spouse to inflict pychological harm on the other through adultery is not considered when deciding custody or property division. Adultery, it could be argued, IS a form of cruelty. But as you pointed out, c) is not even a factor in determining custody or property division.

What about alimony payments? If the lower wage earner cheats, is he/she still entitled to receive alimony?

[About_Time]

Adultery essentially has no effect on anything with regards to divorce. If you can prove it, you don't have to wait the full year to get a divorce decree, but that's about it. Your spouse could do the whole football team and send you full colour glossy photos and it - in and of itself - has no bearing on anything with regards to spousal support, child support, division of assets and even custody.