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 Kentucky, claims for alienation of affection are not recognized by the courts. Kentucky follows the majority of states in this regard, having abolished the cause of action for alienation of affection, so an individual cannot legally sue another person for allegedly causing the loss of love and affection in their marriage due to an affair. However, when it comes to the division of the marital estate upon divorce, Kentucky is an equitable distribution state. This means that while adultery may not be a standalone cause for a lawsuit like alienation of affection, it can be considered by the court when dividing marital property. The court may consider the circumstances of the breakup, including any marital misconduct such as adultery, when deciding how to divide assets fairly, but not necessarily equally, between the spouses.