Legal Question in Family Law in California
If my husband and I started the process for a divorce late June and have been seperated since Dec. of 2011...if he is seeing someone...is he legally able to if we are not yet divorced and would that be considered cheating? I have a feeling he might have someone and he tells me he does not. What are the laws regarding my question? I'm in San Diego, CA.
Thanks,
Cinthia
2 Answers from Attorneys
Since California is a no fault divorce state, involvement with another person before concluding your marriage has no legal relevance.
You are asking a question that is not a legal question. It was at one time, but the law in California changed back in 1970. California is now a no-fault divorce state, which means neither party has to prove fault to get a divorce. The criteria now is simply that the parties simply state that they have irreconcilable differences.
With this system in place, the issue of who is cheating is no longer relevant in California. It is in other states, like New York and Virginia, but in California the judge is not going to want to hear about it.
So your question is more a moral or religious question.