Is Adultery a Crime in Texas? Divorce Impact Explained

In this episode of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan Podcast, we tackle one of the most misunderstood questions in Texas family law: is adultery a crime in Texas, and if not, why does it still matter so much in a divorce, and we walk through the history of adultery law in Texas, from its treatment as a serious criminal offense in the 1800s to its decriminalization in 1973, before explaining the practical difference between a no-fault divorce based on insupportability and a fault-based divorce grounded in adultery, cruelty, abandonment, or a felony conviction; from there we cover what it actually takes to prove adultery in court under the clear-and-convincing evidence standard established in cases like Chastain v. Chastain, including why post-separation conduct can still count against a spouse, and we spend significant time on the financial consequences of an affair, explaining how Texas's fiduciary duty between spouses creates the basis for constructive fraud and waste claims when marital funds are spent on an affair, how courts use a three-step process under Texas Family Code section 7.009 to reconstitute the community estate and divide it in a way that is just and right, and how real Texas appellate decisions have awarded innocent spouses anywhere from 62% to 100% of the community estate, before closing with a broader look at how a finding of adultery can affect spousal maintenance, custody-related proceedings, and the overall complexity and cost of a divorce, with the goal of helping listeners build a divorce strategy grounded in Texas Family Code realities rather than emotion or common misconceptions about what infidelity does and doesn't guarantee in court.