Alienation of affection and criminal conversation are potential legal claims or causes of action against a person who committed adultery with your spouse—the paramour or lover with whom your spouse had an affair. These claims are based on the idea that the person with whom your spouse cheated destroyed or alienated the love and affection in your marriage.

Alienation of affection claims are no longer recognized by courts in most states—but Hawaii, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah do recognize such claims. And in some states that do or do not not recognize such claims, the cheated-on spouse may seek an unequal division of the marital estate based on fault in the breakup of the marriage.

The details of alienation of affection laws (sometimes called heart-balm laws) vary from state to state among the states that do recognize such claims.

In California, claims for alienation of affection are not recognized by the courts. California is a no-fault divorce state, which means that the courts do not consider fault or reasons for the divorce when dividing marital property or deciding on other divorce-related issues. This approach extends to the concept of alienation of affection; therefore, an individual cannot sue another person for allegedly causing the end of their marriage by having an affair with their spouse. The state abolished these types of lawsuits, which were historically known as 'heart-balm' actions, to promote the no-fault divorce system. As such, the cheated-on spouse in California does not have the option to pursue legal action against a third party for alienation of affection or criminal conversation.