• 28
  • April
    2011

While adultery is and will always will be one of the main reasons that couples decide to divorce, the act itself has relatively little legal significance. Why? Colorado is a no-fault divorce state, meaning that the spouse seeking a divorce needs only to state that the marriage is "irretrievably broken." No specific act or cause needs to be demonstrated and blame will not be assigned to either spouse by the courts.

(In reality, the act of adultery really only comes into play during the negotiations for a divorce settlement.)

However, did you know that Colorado is one of only a few states that currently has a law prohibiting adultery still in effect?

In fact, while the law itself is old and fairly innocuous - it carries no penalties and has never resulted in any criminal convictions - it has recently become the focus of a bipartisan repeal effort.

Earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6-1 to repeal both the adultery law and another old law that prohibits "promoting sexual immorality."

According to Senator Pat Steadman (D-Denver), sponsor of the repeal effort, the purpose of the action is simply to update/clarify Colorado law.

"I'm not sure this will change anything in the real world," said Steadman. "It's just a matter of taking some antiquated statutes off the books."

The lone holdout in on the Judiciary Committee was Senator Kevin Lundberg (R- Berthoud) who wanted to ensure that the potential repeal of the "sexuality immorality" law - likely a byproduct of the frontier days - wouldn't have an adverse impact on today's prosecution of pandering/prostitution cases.

"There may be a lot more to this bill than adultery," said Lambert after the vote.

Stay tuned for developments from our Denver divorce blog ...

If you would like to learn more about dissolution of marriage, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced legal professional.

This post is provided for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Related Resources:

All-but-forgotten adultery crime could go in Colorado (San Antonio Express-News)