A paramour is a person who is a love or romantic interest of a married person who is engaging in adultery with the paramour. Spouses engaged in adulterous affairs with paramours sometimes give gifts to their paramours, and often spend marital or community property on such gifts. The non-cheating spouse may pursue a reimbursement claim and ask the court to order the spouse who spent marital assets on a paramour to reimburse the marital or community estate—by returning the gift if it retains its value (jewelry) or replacing the funds with the cheating spouse’s separate property funds.

In California, family law is governed by the California Family Code. When it comes to adultery, California is a no-fault divorce state, meaning that the court does not consider infidelity when dividing marital property or determining alimony. However, if a spouse uses community property to buy gifts for a paramour, the other spouse may have a claim for reimbursement. Under California Family Code Section 1100(b), a spouse has a fiduciary duty to the other regarding the management and control of community property. If one spouse misappropriates community assets for a non-community purpose, such as buying gifts for a paramour, the other spouse may file a claim for reimbursement. The court may order the spouse who spent the community assets on the paramour to reimburse the community estate. This reimbursement could involve returning the item if it retains its value, such as jewelry, or compensating the community with separate property funds of the spouse who committed the misappropriation.