Pornography, Divorce, and Child Custody

How does pornography affect custody and parent-time determinations in a divorce?

Usually when people think about pornography use, or pornography addiction, they think of men being addicted to pornography, and while that happens, pornography use is actually pretty equivalent between men and women.

Men tend to use pornography and approximately the same ratio as women use it, they just use it differently. Men tend to view videos and pictures for their pornography, women tend to read stories sometimes videos and pictures, but usually stories.

It’s not just a male problem, we see this kind of across the board unfortunately. Now the question really becomes, “is this going to affect child custody and parent time?”, the answer is, “probably not”, with a couple caveats…

So pornography can affect custody and parent time if pornography use is criminal. So, if it’s child pornography, use of child pornography, the viewing of child pornography, absolutely.

If it’s other criminal forms of pornography, yes absolutely it’s going to affect child custody and parent-time. But that usually doesn’t happen very often.

Then there is the addiction part of this…

If somebody is actually addicted to pornography, in the sense that they don’t go outside, they don’t have normal human interactions, they don’t interact with their kids, they don’t interact with their spouse, or they can’t hold a job because they’re viewing pornography all the time, those are signs of actual clinical addiction to pornography.

If that’s the situation that you have, or your spouse has, then very likely, yes,  that is going to affect custody and parent-time. Not because of the pornography use itself, but because of the fact that somebody is addicted to it and they can’t control it and they can’t watch their kids and they have horrible relationships or their kids because of the addiction. So it’s an addiction, and like any other addiction. If you have a gambling addiction and you’re losing all your money, you’re not sleeping at night, you’re not interacting with your kids, that’s going to affect custody and parent-time as well.

So that’s really that’s really the takeaway here. If it’s an actual clinical addiction that’s affecting human relationships and your ability to parent your kids, then yes, this is going to have a severe effect on custody and parent-time.

Now I have to tell you that, while pornography use, we run into it all the time in our Utah divorce cases, actual clinical addiction to pornography in these sorts of situations, where it really makes a big difference, doesn’t happen very often at all. So it at the end of the day, pornography is probably not going to have that much to do with custody and parent time.

Now that’s not to say, that this isn’t a betrayal to the spouse who doesn’t use pornography, it absolutely is if that’s the way they feel about it. But when it comes down to figuring out child’s child custody and parent time, it’s probably not going to have that much of an effect, unless again, it’s criminal use of pornography or if there’s an actual clinical addiction to pornography.

Protect Your Money And Your Family

We remove fear associated with divorce, protect your money & maximize time with your kids!

We're here to help. Let's determine your best options.

Call Us 24//7 at 801-685-9999 to Speak with a Live Representative

Utah Divorce FAQs
Top 100 Divorce Blog
What Clients Are Saying…
BrownLaw icon
Excellent
Brown Family Law
Based on 970 reviews
Daniel is guy who truly wants to help. Working with him never feels transactional. He truly does provide you with tailored solutions for divorce which is rarely a "cut and paste" situation. Thanks again for your help Daniel!
David and Dani were very helpful and made my case as stress free as possible.
Great Team. Efficient and smooth process. Excellent communication. Thank you David Hunt.
I’m so grateful for attorney Nicholas Schwarz and paralegal Carren Leavitt at Brown Family Law. From day one, they were ready to work with me immediately, making my case feel like a top priority. Their organization is exceptional, every detail was handled with care and efficiency. Most importantly, their commitment to communication stood out. They kept me informed every step of the way, answered questions promptly, and made sure I fully understood my options.

If you want a legal team that is proactive, organized, and truly dedicated to their clients, I highly recommend Nicholas and Carren at Brown Family Law.
They got my dovorce going and stayed in contact with me every week. Every step of the way anytime I had questions they were answered fast. They made it so much easier.
Clay was great to work with! He was very willing to explain everything I needed to know and helped me understand the options on my case. Very easy to work with.
Jennifer and Dani, as well the rest of the team went above and beyond when it came to my case.
I would highly recommend ‘Brown Family Law’.
My experience with them was exceptional.
Alija
Loved working with Daniel and the whole team. Great service.
Marco and his team at Brown Family Law have created nearly the perfect system for getting divorced in Utah. From the initial intake, to gathering all of the necessary documentation, to the client communication in between. There is so much work that goes into getting divorced, but with Marco and his team you'll always know where you are in the process and what happens next, which is such a comfort. Would highly recommend.
I would give them 10 stars if I could. Clay was professional and super organized. He took the time to explain everything. I would highly recommend him for any family law needed. Melanie was a godsend. She not only kept me continually informed of the progress, she sent texts of encouragement and support throughout the entire process. I would give her 100 stars for going above and beyond to make this experience less stressful. Her encouragement and genuine caring were comforting and calming. The entire staff at Brown Law are on your side and if you are lucky enough to get Clay and Melanie on your team you will not be disappointed. Thanks! Mack M.
Response from the owner:Wow, thank you so much. Melanie is great. Glad she helped you so well.
yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7

Categories