You cannot sue your spouse’s affair partner for alienation of affection in Michigan. The legislature abolished that cause of action in 1935, re-codified the abolition in the Revised Judicature Act of 1961, and it remains the law today under MCL 600.2901.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.2901 – Actions Abolished; Alienation of Affections, Criminal Conversation, Seduction, and Breach of Contract to Marry A complaint filed on that theory will be dismissed.
What the Statute Abolishes
MCL 600.2901 doesn’t just close the door on alienation of affection. It eliminates four related “heart balm” torts in one sweep:
- Alienation of affection — suing a third party for drawing a spouse’s love and loyalty away from the marriage.
- Criminal conversation — suing a third party specifically for having sexual relations with your spouse.
- Seduction — suing someone for seducing a person 18 or older.
- Breach of contract to marry — suing a former fiancé for backing out of an engagement.
The statute is written broadly on purpose. It abolishes alienation of “the affections of any person, animal, or thing capable of feeling affection, whatsoever,” language the legislature chose to close every workaround.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.2901 – Actions Abolished; Alienation of Affections, Criminal Conversation, Seduction, and Breach of Contract to Marry So if a lawyer suggests reframing an affair claim as criminal conversation or some cousin of alienation, the same statute dismisses it.
Michigan was an early mover on this. The original 1935 Heart Balm Act was part of a wave of Depression-era reforms. The abolition carried into the Revised Judicature Act of 1961, which took effect January 1, 1963, and the original 1935 act was formally repealed as redundant in 1980.2Justia. Michigan Code Act 127 of 1935 – Repealed-Alienation of Affections No Michigan court has entertained one of these claims in nearly ninety years.
States Where the Claim Still Exists
Michigan is in the clear majority. A small group of states still recognize alienation of affection, including North Carolina, Hawaii, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. North Carolina is the most active, and juries there have returned six- and seven-figure verdicts, which is why the tort keeps appearing in national headlines even though most states eliminated it long ago.
If the people and events in your situation have real connections to one of those states — the affair partner lives there, the relationship played out there — a lawyer licensed in that state can tell you whether a claim is available under its law. In Michigan itself, there is no revival of the cause of action through creative pleading.
Can You Sue for Emotional Distress Instead?
The common follow-up question is whether intentional infliction of emotional distress fills the gap. Michigan recognizes IIED, but it is not a stand-in for the abolished heart balm torts, and the threshold is high.
The tort protects the “right to be free from serious, intentional and unprivileged invasions of mental and emotional tranquility,” and it requires conduct that is extreme and outrageous — beyond the bounds of decency a reasonable person would tolerate.3Institute of Continuing Legal Education. Michigan Causes of Action Formbook A painful affair, standing alone, almost certainly does not clear that bar. Infidelity is not the kind of conduct Michigan courts have treated as outrageous for IIED purposes.
Where IIED might have traction is when a third party engaged in genuinely extreme behavior on top of the affair: sustained harassment, threats, public humiliation campaigns, deliberate interference with your children. If the facts are closer to garden-variety infidelity, the divorce case itself is where the fallout gets addressed.
How a Spouse’s Misconduct Still Affects Your Divorce
Not being able to sue the third party is not the same thing as having no legal recourse. Within a Michigan divorce, a spouse’s conduct can still shape the money outcomes.
The Divorce Itself Is No-Fault
Michigan moved to no-fault divorce in 1972. Under MCL 552.6, the filing spouse alleges that the marriage has broken down to the point where “the objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved.” The statute actually prohibits putting any other explanation in the complaint.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.6 – Complaint for Divorce You don’t prove the affair to get the divorce. But fault can reenter when the court divides property and sets support.
Property Division
In Sparks v. Sparks (1992), the Michigan Supreme Court set out nine factors trial courts must consider when dividing marital property. Factor eight is “past relations and conduct of the parties.” The court noted that when the legislature moved to no-fault divorce, it deliberately kept judges’ ability to weigh marital conduct in property decisions.5Justia. Sparks v Sparks – 1992 – Michigan Supreme Court Decisions
Courts are not supposed to punish a spouse simply for having an affair. The strongest fault arguments connect misconduct to actual financial harm to the marital estate: savings spent on an affair partner, gifts, hotels, trips, assets moved or hidden. Fault that doesn’t touch money or earning capacity carries much less weight.
Spousal Support
Under MCL 552.23, Michigan courts consider “the character and situation of the parties, and all the other circumstances of the case” when awarding spousal support.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.23 – Judgment of Divorce or Separate Maintenance Fault is not a named factor, but the broad statutory language gives judges room to weigh it. A spouse who controlled the other’s ability to work or contribute to the household may see that reflected in the support award.
So the practical path for a Michigan spouse hurt by an affair runs through the divorce case, not a separate lawsuit against the third party. If the affair cost the marital estate money, raise that in property division. If the conduct bears on the parties’ character and situation, raise it in the support argument. The one thing Michigan law will not give you is a damages verdict against the person your spouse had an affair with.