This is one of the four grounds used to establish Divorce in Scotland. Adultery can be defined as one spouse having voluntary sexual intercourse with a person who is not their spouse. It applies to same sex marriages as much as traditional marriage between a man and a woman. It is not a commonly used ground.
The first common myth to dispel about this ground of divorce is that it does not result in the non-adulterous spouse receiving more when it comes to financial settlement. The only circumstance where that may happen is if it can be established that the adultery has resulted in some negative financial impact on the matrimonial assets.
This ground, more than any other, evokes the most severe emotional response when it comes to separation, children and finances. It can take the other spouse a very long time to come to terms with that breach of trust.
This ground, as noted above, is not commonly used. There is good reason for that. Pursuing an action of Divorce on this ground is likely to be met with resistance and is likely to impact upon the prospects of reaching an amicable settlement. That can lead to a long, stressful, drawn out litigation which may cost you both dearly. In some cases such a course of action will be justified.
At Rooney Family Law we have dealt with numerous adultery based divorces. It is very important to obtain advice early on as you are likely to hear different things from friends and family. Whilst we are empathetic in these types of cases we will also provide you with frank and robust advice from the outset to steer you towards a resolution with as little stress and financial cost to you as possible.