What To Do If Your Spouse Is Taking All The Money In Divorce (2024)

FAQs

What To Do If Your Spouse Is Taking All The Money In Divorce? ›

You can stop your spouse from taking all the money by filing a Petition for Special Relief to Freeze Marital Assets. By filing this petition, you are requesting that the court enter an order preventing either party from depleting marital assets. This petition can apply to all marital assets or certain marital assets.

To ensure that this money is not dissipated and/or concealed, the best thing one can do is to speak with a divorce lawyer. By doing so, that spouse can file a motion of contempt and, in doing so, move forward with the divorce.

You will likely need an attorney to file the divorce, and to request the court to force your spouse to keep paying the bills. Once you have the budget, you now know how much you need to gather to weather the divorce storm. You know how much you need to not be affected by your spouse cutting of the income stream.

It requires the parties to maintain the status quo concerning the family finances and children during the entire pendency of the divorce. That means you cannot empty your joint account unless your spouse consents or you get a court order first. If you are considering divorce, it's important to prepare financially.

So, what exactly is walkaway wife syndrome? In essence, it refers to wives who become so emotionally disconnected and dissatisfied with their marriages that they eventually decide to leave—often after years of built-up resentment.

Separation can give both parties more time and space to consider their goals and desires while the divorce is final. It provides breathing room to prevent further conflict and gives each person time to reflect and heal. Separation can also allow to experience independence while keeping your relationship legally intact.

Despite their best efforts to arrive at an equitable agreement, financial disparities between spouses after divorce are a reality for some couples. There is a good body of research on the subject that shows women bear the heaviest financial burden when a couple divorces.

How do you separate from spouse when you can't afford it? ›

By seeking legal separation, an annulment, or divorce mediation, for example, you may be able to facilitate a more amicable and financially friendly split from your spouse. “Divorce is not the only option,” said Mikki Meyer, a marriage and family therapist in New York City.

Until you have a court order, any property or debt from your marriage still belongs to both of you.

Under California law, a marital relationship is a confidential relationship requiring the highest good faith and fair dealing. Accordingly, California law provides that all spouses have a duty to make a full disclosure of all their assets and provide equal access to all information related to their finances at divorce.

Many married couples have joint bank accounts. Each spouse has the right to make deposits into the account, and, each spouse has the right to withdraw from the account any amount up to the total balance. It's common for married spouses to have joint accounts for practical and romantic reasons.

Only the account holder has the right to access their bank account. If you have a joint bank account, you both own the account and have access to the funds. But in the case of a personal bank account, your spouse has no legal right to access it.

As long as the account is in your name, it is illegal for another person to make transactions from it without your authorization.

It tends to be motivated by power and control, and there is no scenario in which this is legal. Though people may think they can get away with it, there's no loophole that would allow it. If your spouse has put you in a position where you can't access your finances, you need to go to court right away.

You may be overwhelmed by your wife or husband spending too much money, but shaming them to make temporary changes in their habits is hardly the solution. Instead, be supportive and offer constructive criticism so they know why creating good money habits is in the best interests of your relationship in the long run.