What about "online affairs"?

Question: I was interested in knowing what the legal ramifications are of a person who has been involved with a married man/woman in an "online affair" (never met or consumated anything in real life) from a standpoint of being pulled into any divorce proceedings or culpability as part of the alienation of affections that a husband/woman may file with a lawyer during a divorce.

Answer: Well, in spite of the fact that many states have "no-fault" or "modified no-fault" divorce laws, many people who are going through a divorce want the "bad acts" of their partner aired in the proceeding. While sometimes fault may be considered in property division, most of the "bad acts " disclosed to the lawyer have little impact on the proceeding. Most cases are settled without a full blown court hearing, and the judge presumes that the parties don't care for each other because they want to be divorced, so misdeeds as described don't carry a lot of weight. As to the culpability of the non-spouse in an alienation of affections action, the non-spouse is the defendant in such an action and the request is for money damages. Generally speaking, it would be difficult to convince a jury that a person who has never met or spoken to a person has alienated that person's affections for his/her spouse. Further, many states no longer allow such a cause of action, and where it is allowed it is rarely seen.

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