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 Michigan, adultery is technically still a felony under state law, although it is rarely prosecuted. When it comes to divorce proceedings, Michigan is a no-fault divorce state, meaning that the misconduct of a spouse, including adultery, is not required to be proven for a divorce to be granted. However, the issue of adultery can still be relevant when it comes to the division of marital property. If a spouse has used marital assets to buy gifts for a paramour, the other spouse may argue that this constitutes a waste or dissipation of marital assets. The court may consider this when dividing the marital estate and may order the spouse who spent the assets on a paramour to reimburse the marital estate. This reimbursement could be in the form of returning the item if it retains value, such as jewelry, or by compensating the marital estate with separate funds. It is important to note that the specifics of each case can vary, and the outcome can depend on the discretion of the court and the evidence presented.