Should I hire a private detective if I think my spouse is cheating on me?

The answer is no; unless you like wasting your time and money. In Illinois, as in most states, “fault” is no longer a factor that you need to prove in a divorce. That means, for the most part, no matter how many affairs your spouse had, his or her “bad behavior” will have little or no effect on how your marital assets will be distributed, the amount and duration of support, or who gets custody of the children. There are, however, two big exceptions to this general statement:

1. If your spouse’s bad behavior in some way affects his or her ability to adequately parent your children, then that behavior could potentially affect a custody determination and may have repercussions with respect to visitation as well; and
2. If your spouse is spending marital money on his or her paramour, then he or she may be considered to have “dissipated” (wasted) marital assets. In that case, your spouse may have to refund to the marital estate all money he or she spent on the other person.

Karen A. Covy, J.D. is a divorce attorney and family law mediator in Chicago Illinois . She is the author of When Happily Ever After Ends, How to Survive Your Divorce Emotionally, Financially and Legally.