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 New Jersey, claims for alienation of affection and criminal conversation are not recognized by the courts. New Jersey follows the majority of states in this regard, having abolished these causes of action. Therefore, an individual in New Jersey cannot legally pursue a case against a third party who they believe is responsible for the breakdown of their marriage due to an affair with their spouse. While these 'heart-balm' torts are still recognized in a few states, New Jersey does not allow for such legal actions. However, when it comes to the division of marital property in a divorce, New Jersey is an equitable distribution state, which means that the court divides marital property in a manner that is fair but not necessarily equal. Although adultery may not be a basis for a separate legal claim like alienation of affection, it can be considered by the court as a factor when determining the equitable distribution of assets.