Polish Supreme Court rules on infidelity and asset division in divorce

The Polish Supreme Court has issued a ruling clarifying the division of marital assets in divorce cases involving infidelity. The court determined that a spouse is not obligated to compensate the other for financial losses in a shared business that resulted from neglect caused by infidelity.

The case centered on a former wife who sought to have lost business income factored into the division of marital property. She argued that her husband's diminished involvement in their seasonal business, which led to a decline in profits, was a direct consequence of her infidelity. She believed these lost earnings should be accounted for in the final settlement.

However, the Supreme Court upheld lower court decisions, emphasizing that asset division primarily concerns the active assets of the marital estate at the time of the ruling. The court noted that assets lost, sold, destroyed, or consumed after the dissolution of the marital community but before the division are generally not included. Exceptions can be made if it's proven that such actions were unjustified, squandered, or intentionally destructive, in which case their value might be accounted for retrospectively.

The ruling underscores that claims for compensation related to the unjustified disposal or squandering of marital assets are treated as damages, governed by general civil law principles. This means proving intentional wrongdoing or negligence that harmed the shared estate is crucial for such claims to be successful.