Top Five Points About Adultery That You Probably Didn’t Know
As I have written before, one of the grounds on which divorce can be granted to spouses in Canada is that of adultery. For the most part, the concept is quite straightforward: “Adultery” for these purposes is precisely what most people think it would be.
However, from a Canadian legal standpoint there are some finer points that are worth mentioning, largely derived from cases that have been decided over the years. Here are the top five lesser-known points to know:
1 • Adultery may occur if there is “[i]ntimate sexual activity outside of marriage may represent a violation of the marital bond and be devastating to the spouse and the marital bond regardless of the specific nature of the sexual act performed.” (From the case called P. (S.E.) v. P. (D.D.))
2 • A single act of sexual intercourse can amount to “adultery” for the purpose of divorce in Canada. (Henderson v. Henderson and Crellin)
3 • Adultery can occur with a same-sex partner. (P. (S.E.) v. P. (D.D.))
4 • An affidavit admitting to adultery with an unnamed party is sufficient for Divorce Act purposes. (d’Entremont v. d’Entremont)
5 • In the right circumstances, adultery can be condoned. For example, if out of love and a desire to make the marriage work one spouse takes back an adulterous cheating spouse, then he or she may not be able to ask for a divorce based on the earlier adultery. In this scenario, the innocent spouse may be considered to have condoned the adultery for divorce purposes. (Ingram v. Ingram)
For the full text of the cases, see:
d’Entremont v. d’Entremont (1992), 44 R.F.L. (3d) 224, 118 N.S.R. (2d) 51, 327 A.P.R. 51 (C.A.)
Henderson v. Henderson and Crellin, [1944] A.C. 49, [1944] 1 All E.R. 44
Ingram v. Ingram (1985), 1985 CarswellSask 768, 48 Sask. R. 157 (Sask. Q.B.)
P. (S.E.) v. P. (D.D.), 2005 CarswellBC 2137, 2005 BCSC 1290 (B.C. S.C.)
At Russell Alexander, Family Lawyers our focus is exclusively family law, offering pre-separation legal advice and assisting clients with family related issues including: custody and access, separation agreements, child and spousal support, division of family property, paternity disputes, and enforcement of court orders. For more information, visit us at www.RussellAlexander.com
