For those of you who were wondering what effect, if any the recent Tiger Woods public apology would have on a divorce in New York--the answer is "not much". Contrary to what many people think about the divorce laws in the State of New York, who is "at fault" is almost irrelevant. In fact, in New York, although the law requires some "marital fault ground" (like cruelty, abandonment or adultery) to be alleged, who is at fault has little if any affect on the ultimate financial determinations of the Court.
The exception to this rule is if you can prove "egregious fault" meaning fault that is so severe that it shocks the conscience or is so horrible that it compels us as moral individuals to punish the wrongdoer financially, in addition to whatever criminal penalties may come along with that conduct. However, do't get to excited just yet as even though most people feel their spouse falls into this category, these "egregious fault cases" have been carefully limited to the most extreme situations such as beating your wife to near death with a barbell or hiring a hitman to kill your spouse.
Tiger's recent apology may have been a good PR maneuver and in fact been genuine, but in New York it was not necessary as a precondition to an equitable divorce settlement. His admitted adultery may assist his wife in proving grounds for divorce in New York but would not be a legal basis to "get screwed financially". However, adultery is still a crime on the books of the State of New York although you would be hard pressed to find a district attorney to prosecute--go figure.
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