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 West Virginia, adultery can have legal implications in the context of divorce proceedings. While West Virginia is a no-fault divorce state, meaning that a spouse does not need to prove wrongdoing to obtain a divorce, the conduct of the spouses can still be relevant in certain aspects of the divorce, such as the division of marital property. If a spouse has spent marital assets on a paramour, the non-cheating spouse may raise this issue in court. The court has the discretion to consider the dissipation of marital assets when making decisions about the division of property. If the court finds that marital funds were spent on gifts for a paramour, it may order the cheating spouse to reimburse the marital estate. This could be done by returning the gift if it retains its value, such as jewelry, or by compensating the marital estate with separate property funds of the cheating spouse. It is important to note that the specifics of each case can vary, and the outcome can depend on the evidence presented and the discretion of the court.