Divorce Bank Account QuestionsDo you have divorce bank account questions? Wondering what will happen to financial accounts that were opened during your marriage? Worried that he will drain all of your shared accounts and leave you with no money to live on? Is your own personal account safe from being purged in the process of the divorce? Save yourself some grief by learning about some common issues with bank accounts and divorce.
Can he legally close joint accounts after I file for divorce? K's Question: If I move out and file for divorce, is it against the law for him to close out all joint credit cards and bank accounts? Brette's Answer: No, it is not illegal, but he will be required to make those funds available for the dissolution. Are finances automatically frozen when the divorce is filed? Becky's Question: If I file on line for divorce, will this freeze our finances? Brette's Answer: Bank accounts are only frozen at your request, or by court order. » Return to top Does he have any claim to the children's accounts? Jennifer's Question: My children have some investment accounts and educational IRA's in their names with me controlling them under UGTMA. My ex-spouse is wanting access to those accounts and I contend they belong to the children and he has no claim on them. What is the stance on this? Brette's Answer: Those accounts belong to the children. He can argue to the court that he should be the parent controlling them and that will be up to the court, but they cannot be given to him to use. Can I move money into the kid's account so he can't get it? Question: I have my own bank account and have never had any joint accounts with spouse. Can I remove more than half of my money and put it in someone else's name with no repercussions? Either my sister's name or one of my children? And then he wouldn't be able to get it should we divorce? Brette's Answer: All assets acquired during divorce are marital and must be accounted for and divided by the court - it doesn't matter where you move it. You can remove money if you need it or are worried he will take it. Will the bank account I had before we married be split? Kimberly's Question: My husband and I have been married 3 years. Is he entitled to any money that has been deposited into a savings account that I have had since before we were married? My husband is not named as a beneficiary on my savings account and has not contributed to it at all. Brette's Answer: The money that was in the account before marriage is your separate property and not dividable in the divorce. Anything you added to it during marriage is marital property and will be considered in creating a property settlement. This doesn't mean he will get it, but it does mean it is considered to be part of the pot that must be divided. Property settlements look at the big picture and include all assets and debts. Is it co-mingling if I use trust fund money to pay household bills? Kay's Question: Is it considered co-mingling of funds if I take money from a trust (first set up by my mom, then became mine) and put in my own personal account that I use to pay household bills with? Brette's Answer: The money used to pay the household bills likely becomes marital property but the unused amount is probably not. » Return to top Are saving accounts owned before marriage separate property? Jenny's Question: I know that property bought before marriage is yours to keep if there is a divorce. Does this principle apply to saving accounts, CDs, etc. earned before marriage? Brette's Answer: Everything you owned before marriage is separate property. However if it accrues in value during marriage, that increase may be considered marital property. Do I have to tell his lawyer about my personal bank account? Donna's Question: My husband and I are contemplating separation or possibly divorce. I opened a bank account without his knowledge, and have been putting some money in it each week so I have funds in case I have to be on my own. If it comes to us divorcing, can his lawyer research and find out about it? Brette's Answer: You are going to have to disclose the bank account in your financial affidavit. Everyone in a divorce must provide complete financial disclosure to the other party and to the court. Failure to reveal the information could get you into serious trouble. That doesn't mean you won't be able to keep the money however, and it certainly doesn't mean you can't use that money right now to pay your bills. » Return to top What if I found statements for an account he didn't disclose? Kathleen's Question: My husband filed for a divorce after 10 yrs of marriage. While looking through some financial documents I found statements for a money market account with quite a lot of money in it and looked to be in his name only. He didn't include any of it in his income and expense declarations. The date on the papers was one year ago. I have a feeling that he is going to say that it was his parents money or something like that and he will certainly move the money if I mention it to him. What should I do? Brette's Answer: Say nothing to him and give the information to your attorney immediately. Should we split the savings and checking accounts? Tina's Question: We are separated and we are going to use a paralegal. I wanted to find out if we should split our savings acct, checking acct and 401k. I am a housewife and he is the breadwinner. We have one child together. He doesn't want me to touch any account. Brette's Answer: I strongly suggest that you go and talk to an attorney to find out what your rights are and what you would be entitled to in court. You don't need to hire the attorney to represent you, but one session in which you educate yourself about the law and how your case would be decided by a court would be very eye-opening for you. You're going to short-change yourself unless you get some legal advice. » Return to top Can I make him repay the money he took from my account? Tami's Question: Before leaving, my husband he took all the money from my checking account by writing checks and forging my name, which caused a lot of checks to bounce. The checking account was in my name only, and now I have bad credit and have to repay this money. Can I somehow get him to pay this in the divorce settlement? Brette's Answer: Yes. That money is marital property and must be accounted for in the divorce settlement. Put together a good accounting of what he took and how much it cost you in fees. Also detail some information about how it has affected your credit rating. Get an attorney. Can I legally pay bills out of his checking account? Rebecca's Question: My husband moved out of the marital home a couple of months ago. Can I legally pay bills out of his checking account? Brette's Answer: No, not unless your name is on the account. You can file for spousal support. Can I withdraw money from his account to help support the kids? Angie's Question: I have been separated from my husband for 6 months, and he hasn't paid any child support for our children. Since we are still legally married, do I have the right to access his account to help with the support of our children? The account is only in his name. Brette's Answer: No. The bank will not allow you to access it, but the court can divide those funds in the divorce if they are marital property. You should go to family court and seek child and spousal support. » Return to top Can I take a check and withdraw half the money from his account? Kathy's Question: Can I forge a check from my husbands account to get 1/2 of the balance in the account before it all disappears from the account? Brette's Answer: No, of course not. Check forging is illegal. What are my rights if he opened an account with his girlfriend? Wanda's Question: We were married for 27 years when he found a younger woman. I made him leave the home and he moved in with her the next day. He has a checking account with her on it and they purchased a vehicle together. What are my rights legally? Brette's Answer: Whatever he took with him in terms of cash that came from marital funds is considered a marital asset and is accountable in the divorce. It doesn't matter what he does with it or what account he puts it into. Am I entitled to part of the joint account he has with his father? Andrea's Question: My husband and I are getting a divorce but nothing has been filed yet. He has a joint account with his father and has had this account the entire time of our marriage. He has a portion of his check go to this account. Am I entitled to some of this money since he accrued it during the marriage? Brette's Answer: Yes, but there will need to be some accounting to determine what portion of the account is his and thus marital. » Return to top What am I entitled to if he was a co-signer on his father's accounts? Andrea's Question: My husband of 20 years has decided to divorce me. Three years ago, he had his name put on his aging father's accounts. There are money market accounts, cd's, saving accounts, and checking accounts, all of which he is a co-account holder. When he told me he was going to divorce me, he took his name off of all his shared accounts with his father. What if any legal rights do I have to those accounts. Brette's Answer: It will depend on what the intent was. If he was put on the accounts for convenience, so he could do banking for his father, and not as an owner, then you may have no right to it. You need to get an attorney who can help you with this. » Return to top Is he entitled to any of the money that I'm managing for my mother? Jen's Question: I am currently in the settlement process of my divorce. I have a savings account with mine and my brothers name on it. The money in the account is my mothers. My brother and I had to put it in our names because our mother has mental health issues. My ex is trying to claim half of the money in the savings account. The money in that account has nothing to do with him or myself for that matter. Can he get away with that? Brette's Answer: That money would be considered a separate asset (a gift) or not an asset of yours at all since you are simply managing her funds. Do I have to disclose that I am on my mother's bank account? Stephanie's Question: Can my husband get to my mothers accounts? I am a signer on them in case of an emergency and need to access them on her behalf. Do I have to disclose that I am on her bank account when we submit financial statements in our divorce? Brette's Answer: If you do not own the money, it is not an asset. If your mother has told you that you can have the money, then it is questionable whether you own it or not. If it is purely a convenience account situation where you cannot use the money for yourself, but can access it for your mother, as a matter of convenience, it's unlikely it would be considered your asset. » Return to top of Divorce Bank Account Copyright WomansDivorce.com. All rights reserved. Related Articles:
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