Divorce - adultery or unreasonable behaviour?

[Marshmallow101]

My mother in law was caught over the weekend with her boyfriend in the family home whilst the grown up children resident in the home were away on holiday and the father in law/husband was looking after his mother at the house one door down. Father in law came back to a locked door and mother in law came down and unlocked it, only for him to discover there was another man in the house. She is known to have previously had numerous affairs. During the time we lived with them I have seen her extremely drunk several times a week, verbally and physically abusive towards husband, her husbands elderly mother and grown-up children and a 4-week stint in prison for drink driving. Father in law runs a very lucrative business (half in his and half in his brother's name) and is concerned if he divorces her she will get a considerable undeserved sum. Can anyone advise if this is the case? How easily can he divorce her if she doesn't agree to the terms i.e. Financial settlement? She has previously deserted the household for an extended period of time (approx. a decade) but has been back in the house for around 5 years. TIA.

[Law Student 1]

(Responding to post for training purposes only. @Celestine)

Hello

It doesn’t matter how long ago the adultery happened or whether it’s still happening. Your father in law will have to prove it happened. This can be very hard to prove unless your mother in law admits to the adultery. If she won’t admit to it, it might be easier to prove that your she is having an inappropriate relationship with someone of the opposite sex. This would be ‘unreasonable behaviour’. *

Father in law will also have to prove you didn’t live together for more than 6 months after finding out.

Unreasonable behaviour can be anything your partner has done that makes you feel it’s impossible to live with them any more.

It can include things like domestic abuse or committing a criminal offence.

It can also include things that might seem less serious, but that still make you feel you can’t stay with your partner - for example, if:

• your partner doesn’t include you in their social life
• you think your partner has become too close to someone else
• your partner works long hours and you feel lonely
• your partner doesn’t help with things like housework and cooking

To Father in Law - You’ll need to give a reason you feel they’re being unreasonable that is specific and based on something they’ve done or are doing. Therefore, unreasonable behaviour may be the favourable option in this case as you have stated that she drinks a lot, is abusive and has been to prison. Any of these reasons can potentially amount to unreasonable behaviour.

Unfortunately, the reasons for the divorce are not relevant when deciding how the marital assets should be divided. The court doesn’t look to apportion blame or penalise either party, save in very unusual circumstances. The Matrimonial Causes Act*sets out the criteria that are to be used when determining how the couple’s assets should be dealt with (in the absence of an agreement), and what the terms of their financial settlement should be.

So, it’s highly unlikely that the court will take adultery/ unreasonable behaviour into account when making a decision regarding the financial aspects of the marriage.*


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