A paramour is a person who is a love or romantic interest of a married person who is engaging in adultery with the paramour. Spouses engaged in adulterous affairs with paramours sometimes give gifts to their paramours, and often spend marital or community property on such gifts. The non-cheating spouse may pursue a reimbursement claim and ask the court to order the spouse who spent marital assets on a paramour to reimburse the marital or community estate—by returning the gift if it retains its value (jewelry) or replacing the funds with the cheating spouse’s separate property funds.

In Wisconsin, which is a community property state, both spouses are considered equal owners of all marital property. When one spouse uses marital assets to buy gifts for a paramour, the non-cheating spouse may have the right to seek reimbursement. Wisconsin law allows for the division of property in a way that is fair and equitable upon divorce, and this can include consideration of the waste or dissipation of marital assets due to one spouse's extramarital affair. The court may order the spouse who spent marital assets on a paramour to reimburse the marital estate. This could involve returning the gift if it is still valuable, such as jewelry, or compensating the marital estate with separate funds belonging to the cheating spouse. It's important to note that while adultery can be a factor in property division, it does not automatically lead to penalties in property division; the court will consider the circumstances of each case individually.