Alienation of affection

Dear confused1:

Greetings. Yes, you can still maintain a suit for alienation of affection if the party remains in the home. Also, the same goes for the other situation you mentioned. It does not matter if they want to stay in after they cheated, I sure would not want to stay in that marriage. And why would I not want to stay in that marriage, because this third party came along and had sex with my spouse, alienating his affection. Bottom line is you can still have a claim for alienation of affection in either instance. Best of luck.

Janet L. Fritts
Attorney at Law
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
NCDivorce.com
919-787-6668

The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.

I was wondering if one can sue for alianation of affection against someone in NC if the marriage and the couple whom the ofense was brought against were out of state, asuming that the influence by the defendant was done in the state of NC? Also, I’ve read that alienation of affection can aply to in-laws. My question would be, do suits against people other than a lover, i.e. mother-in-laws ever really hold up in court?

Dear ryno:

Greetings. To sue in North Carolina you would need personal jurisdiction. To determine personal jurisdiction, we look to see if the person you are suing has enough “minimum contacts” with North Carolina to sue them, so that it would be fair and reasonable for them to come to NC to defend the action.

I would stick to suing the boyfriend or girlfriend. Best of luck.

Janet L. Fritts
Attorney at Law
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
NCDivorce.com
919-787-6668

The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.

To follow up on Devil1’s question of May 3, if a spouse has an affair but never leaves the marriage, is an alienation of affection lawsuit still possible.

If the offending spouse wants to stay in the marriage but the offended spouse files for separation, is that still alienation of affection…I’m thinking the offending spouse’s affection wasn’t aliented, he(she) had an affair but never intended to end the marriage (ie. his(her) affection was not alienated). but the spouse who was cheated upon decides to the end the marriage…