It often occurs that a married couple will decide to get a divorce but continue having intimate relations with one another.
The results of a Research Now poll indicate that nearly 30% of spouses admit to having sex together during and after their divorce.
Can spousal sex during divorce have a legal impact?
Maintaining a sexual relationship during a divorce usually has little legal impact in a simple divorce. However, those who file for a fault-based divorce for adultery or other misconduct could face legal difficulties if they have sex with the other spouse. Since adultery is a fault ground under New Jersey divorce laws, this is something to consider.
Should you or should you not?
Divorce is lonely and painful, but you might find a measure of solace in the arms of your spouse. Such temptation is hard to resist, even when sex is less desirable than human connection and intimacy.
The problem with resuming or continuing intimate relations is that it can send mixed signals. For example, if your spouse doesn’t want a divorce, they could believe a renewal of sex will lead to reconciliation.
Two more possible drawbacks of intimacy during divorce:
- It could interfere with the ability of either spouse to make a clean break.
- It might ultimately increase the emotional hardships (grief, betrayal, etc.) of divorcing for both parties.
It’s hard to know exactly if you should keep having sex during your divorce is the right thing. If you have questions then you may need to seek out New Jersey legal guidance for custom-tailored divorce guidance.