There is a 3 year statute of limitations on this type of thing.
Marital misconduct has little if nothing to do with the division of marital assets and nothing to do with child support. The only thing that an affair would affect is alimony and I assume that you are not asking for that…in my opinion, do not settle for less that what you are due. 50% of the marital assets and debts and what the guidelines suggest for child support.
If his accusations are not valid then there is no need to worry. Alienation of Affection suits are expensive, time consuming and difficult to prove. Most of the time, from what I have read on this forum, a letter is sent to the 3rd party stating an amount of money necessary to keep this out of court. The decision must then be made of whether or not the amount asked for settlement is less than attorney’s fees would be to defend against this.
Also, you should consult with an attorney for all of this. Mention to your attorney that your stbx is threatening you with this to “persuade” you to settle, and also be straight with the attorney about the “friend” and the relationship. Attorneys work better with all the facts and he/she can tell you where you stand.
If you do decide to settle with your stbx to keep this from happening, I suggest that you have this put into the agreement also. This way, a year from now when you are only getting 1/2 the child support you should be getting and did not get all that you were entitled to in the divorce, he can not still go back and sue the friend.
The statute of limitations for Alienation of Affection begins when the alienation is complete and runs for three years from that date. The courts have recently ruled that alienation is not complete until the date of the divorce. You should consult with an attorney to find out about the statue of limitations in your specific case.
Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm
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Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
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Is there a statute of limitations for a spouse to persue this? I have been separated for 18 months and have no formal separation agreement but I am living in the house (and paying for it and all related expenses) and our 2 children are with me. My husband is paying very occasional child support to help me out. My husband thinks I was having an affair prior to separation, and claims he has phone records to back up his charge. We are trying to work out a separation agreement and he is arguing over equitible distribution of our assetts. He says that if I push the subject and don’t take what he is offering (which is about 30% of assetts and 50% of what state ordered child support would be) he will charge my friend with alienation of affection.
I do not have the money to pay an attorney and am trying to come to some sort of an agreement on my own that I can take to my attorney to draw up and formalize. I know that if this was to go before a judge I would be entitled to 50% of our assetts and to full child support. I am feeling bullied, but don’t want to open up a can of worms with him claiming and publicizing that I had an affair. Since we have been separated for so long, can he now come back and claim alienation of affection?