Miami Private InvestigationsAdultery does not decide whether you get divorced in Florida: the state is no-fault, and a court needs only to find that the marriage is irretrievably broken (s. 61.052, F.S.). It can still matter in three places. The court may consider adultery and its economic impact when deciding alimony (s. 61.08), money spent on an affair may count as dissipation of marital assets (s. 61.075), and conduct can be relevant to parenting through the moral-fitness factor (s. 61.13, F.S.). Your attorney gives the legal advice; an investigator documents the facts.
This article explains the statutes in plain terms. It is not legal advice, and how they apply to your marriage depends on facts only your attorney can weigh.
Does Florida care who caused the divorce?
Not for the divorce itself. A judgment of dissolution may be granted only if the marriage is irretrievably broken or one party has been adjudged mentally incapacitated (s. 61.052(1)). You do not have to prove adultery to get divorced, and your spouse cannot prevent the divorce by denying it. One of you must also have lived in Florida for 6 months before the petition is filed (s. 61.021, F.S.).
So the question is not “who is at fault?” but “does this conduct change money, property or parenting?” Sometimes it does, often it does not, and the difference usually comes down to evidence.
Does adultery affect alimony in Florida?
It can affect the amount. Section 61.08(1)(a) says the court “may consider the adultery of either spouse and any resulting economic impact in determining the amount of alimony, if any, to be awarded.” Two words do a lot of work there: may, so it is discretionary, and economic impact, so the focus is usually on what the affair cost the marriage rather than on the moral question.
Adultery is not the starting point, though. Before anything else, the court must decide whether the person asking for alimony actually needs it and whether the other spouse can pay, and the person seeking alimony carries the burden of proving both (s. 61.08(2)(a)). Only then does the court weigh the listed factors, including the length of the marriage, the standard of living, each party’s resources and earning capacity, and each party’s contribution to the marriage (s. 61.08(3)).
The current statute lists four forms of alimony: temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative and durational (s. 61.08(1)(a)). Permanent alimony is not on that list. Bridge-the-gap alimony may not exceed 2 years, rehabilitative alimony may not exceed 5 years, and durational alimony may not be awarded after a marriage lasting less than 3 years (s. 61.08(6)-(8)).
So, “if my wife cheats, will I still have to pay alimony?” or “if my husband cheated, will I get more?” The honest answer is that need and ability to pay come first, and adultery is something the court may weigh in setting the amount. Your attorney can tell you whether it is likely to matter in your case.
What if the spouse seeking alimony is living with a new partner?
That is a different question from adultery, and it comes up often after separation. Among the factors the court may consider when shaping an alimony award is “any other factor necessary for equity and justice between the parties,” which the statute says may include a finding of a supportive relationship as provided for in s. 61.14(1)(b) (s. 61.08(3)(h)). Whether a relationship qualifies is a legal judgment for the court, based on facts such as whether the couple live together and share expenses. Those facts are observable: an investigator can lawfully document where someone lives and how often, over time, in public. Your attorney decides whether the facts support raising the issue, before or after a final judgment.
Can an affair affect how property is divided?
Florida starts from the premise that marital assets and liabilities should be divided equally, unless there is a justification for an unequal split based on the listed factors (s. 61.075(1)). One of those factors is “the intentional dissipation, waste, depletion, or destruction of marital assets after the filing of the petition or within 2 years prior to the filing of the petition” (s. 61.075(1)(i)).
In an infidelity case, that is the factor people ask about most. Hotel stays, travel, gifts, rent or cash spent on an affair partner from marital money may be argued as dissipation. The affair itself is not what moves the needle; the documented spending is. That is why tracing dates, places and transactions matters more than proving the relationship in general terms. Your attorney obtains financial records through the case; an investigator can document where the spending happened and with whom.
Does cheating affect custody or time-sharing?
Florida decides parenting plans and time-sharing based on the best interests of the child, which must be the primary consideration (s. 61.13(3)). The statute lists the factors the court evaluates, and one of them is “the moral fitness of the parents” (s. 61.13(3)(f)). Adultery is not itself on the list.
In practice, the question is whether a parent’s conduct affects the children: who is around them, whether they are left unsupervised, whether a parent’s choices are putting their safety or routine at risk. Those are facts, and they can be documented. If parenting is your main concern, our child custody investigator page explains how that work is done and how it differs from an infidelity case.
Can I sue the person my spouse cheated with?
No. Florida abolished the old lawsuits for alienation of affections and criminal conversation, the claims that once allowed a spouse to sue the affair partner for damages (s. 771.01, F.S.). Any consequences run through the divorce itself, mainly the alimony and dissipation questions above.
What evidence actually helps?
Evidence that is specific and lawfully obtained:
- Dates, places and people, documented through lawful surveillance in public places with time-stamped photographs and video.
- A written log made at the time, which an investigator can testify to.
- Financial records your attorney obtains through the case, matched to what was observed.
Evidence that hurts: anything from spyware, a hidden recorder, a tracker on your spouse’s car, or their accounts. Unlawfully intercepted calls and conversations cannot be received in evidence (s. 934.06, F.S.), and gathering them can expose you to criminal charges and a civil suit. Our guides on tracking a spouse’s phone or car in Florida and how to catch a cheating spouse legally explain the lines. Our article on how surveillance evidence is used in Florida divorce cases covers how a report is presented.
Who does what: the attorney or the investigator?
Your attorney tells you whether adultery is likely to matter for alimony, property or parenting in your case, decides what evidence is worth gathering, and handles discovery, subpoenas and court.
A licensed investigator does not give legal advice. What a cheating spouse investigator does is establish facts: where your spouse went, when, with whom and for how long, recorded lawfully and reported in a form your attorney can use. We often work directly with the client’s attorney so the investigation targets the questions that matter, not just the ones that feel urgent. See our infidelity investigations page for how a case is scoped.
What should I do first?
Talk to a family-law attorney about what matters in your situation, keep a private record of what you have noticed, and do not try to gather evidence in ways that could be illegal. If your attorney needs documented facts, a licensed investigator can provide them. Timing matters too: the dissipation factor looks back 2 years from the filing of the petition, and surveillance is easiest before a spouse knows a divorce is coming, so it is worth having the conversation with your attorney early rather than after the petition is served.
Miami Private Investigations is licensed in Florida under agency licence A1800135. Call (305) 686-7826 or contact us for a confidential consultation. We can also work alongside your attorney from the start.