Adultery is a form of extramarital sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not a party to the marriage. In a fault divorce, adultery is one of the grounds for divorce. In addition to obtaining a divorce, some states also allow courts to consider adultery as a factor in dividing property, awarding alimony, or awarding custody of the children.
Cases such as this one from Texas, explain that “‘adultery,’ as ground for divorce, is the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with one not the spouse.”
[Last updated in November of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]