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 North Carolina, alienation of affection and criminal conversation are still recognized as causes of action. Alienation of affection claims allow a spouse to sue a third party who they believe is responsible for the failure of their marriage by providing evidence that the love and affection in the marriage was destroyed due to the third party's actions. Criminal conversation is a related claim that involves suing a third party for engaging in sexual relations with one's spouse during the marriage, which is considered a breach of the marriage contract. These claims are somewhat controversial and are not recognized in most states, but North Carolina continues to allow them. Additionally, in cases of divorce, North Carolina may consider marital misconduct, including adultery, when determining the division of marital property. This could potentially lead to an unequal division of the marital estate in favor of the spouse who was cheated on.