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 Minnesota, adultery does not have a direct impact on the division of property during a divorce as Minnesota is a no-fault divorce state. This means that marital misconduct is not considered when dividing assets. However, if a spouse has dissipated marital assets by giving gifts to a paramour, the court may take this into consideration when dividing property. Dissipation refers to the wasting or destruction of marital assets by one spouse for a purpose unrelated to the marriage at a time when the marriage is undergoing an irretrievable breakdown. If the non-cheating spouse can prove that the other spouse spent marital funds on a paramour, the court may order reimbursement to the marital estate. This reimbursement could be in the form of returning the gift if it retains its value, such as jewelry, or by compensating the marital estate with separate funds from the cheating spouse. It is important to note that proving dissipation can be complex and typically requires clear evidence of the spending and its connection to the affair.