by Chris Palmer

Until recently, everyone knew Tiger Woods as one of the most successful wealthiest sports figures in history. Unfortunately for his family, he is now known as an unfaithful husband whose ever-growing list of paramours will surely haunt his wife for years to come.    The damage caused by adultery though is the same, whether you are Tiger Woods or Joe the Plumber.

In Mississippi, for a spouse to prove adultery, there must be clear and convincing evidence of both an adulterous inclination and a reasonable opportunity to satisfy that inclination.  Adultery can be proven by circumstantial evidence because the secretive nature of adultery normally prevents someone from obtaining direct evidence of what occurred behind closed doors.  The evidence of adultery must be logical and be inconsistent with a theory of innocence.  A classic example would be evidence that a husband claimed to be going on a business trip to another state but was seen kissing a woman (not his wife), entering a local motel room her and not leaving until the morning.  Of course, this does not provide any evidence of what occurred in the motel room but the evidence would clearly demonstrate facts inconsistent with a theory of innocence and would likely result in a finding of adultery.

In a Mississippi divorce case, once a spouse proves adultery, the court will decide issues such as child custody and the division of assets.  So not only does the innocent spouse discover the cheating ways of the adulterous spouse, everyone takes a large financial hit with the asset division.  Sadly, however, the pain caused by adultery does not always end quickly.  Often, the destruction of trust caused by the cheating impacts people’s ability to act reasonably after a divorce is concluded.  This usually manifests itself in an unreasonable level of anger, an inability to communicate with the former spouse and frequent post-divorce contempt actions.  It can even result in a lawsuit being filed against the paramour for Alienation of Affections.  Adultery is possibly the most destructive of the divorce grounds in Mississippi.

If you are the innocent spouse in an adultery situation, it is important to speak with a lawyer quickly to determine the best way to preserve evidence if you decide to pursue a divorce and so that you will understand what is necessary should you pursue a divorce.  Even resuming normal marital relations with your spouse after learning of an affair may drastically impact your ability to pursue a divorce on the ground of adultery.

As for Tiger, his adulterous actions may cost him his family, fortune and possibly his career.  He will still remain a wealthy after a divorce, but the image he cultivated over the years that has contributed to his staggering earnings has likely been permanently tarnished.