My wife just emptied 40,000 from our joint account?

Question

Were splitting up.
I told her I didnt want to live with her anymore and she left.
Little did I know she left to the bank.

Can I do anything about this, or because it was a joint account, she can take the money and run?

Am I SOOL?

Answer 1

She's going to have a great Christmas. Sorry.

Answer 2

So sorry to hear that. I'm in the military and I'm honestly getting tired of seeing this happen to soldiers, especially after getting back from deployment. Depending on what state you're in you may be able to recover half of it, since it was joint. First you need to get bank records...not only to show what she took, but to show where the money was coming from. Again, depending on the state It's going to make a difference if you were the only one earning an income or if she had a job as well. If she had a job, she should not be financially dependant on you 100%....especially if no kids are involved. Even though it was a joint account she has no right to all the money. It would be like you selling a house or a car without her permission that both of you were signed for, the judge would make you give her half in the settlement. Worst case scenario that you can't get your money back, then you should request that she's responsible for paying for the divorce, your lawyer and all the debts that you guys accrued together since she took all the money. Get it in writing during the divorce and have all the bills changed over to her name only so you don't ruin your credit....let her worry about it. It will be her choice to use the money to get herself out of all this or spend it and dig herself a deeper hole. Even if you don't get all your money back, if you get a GOOD lawyer, you will come out on top. Wish you the best of luck and hope everything works out for you.

Answer 3

No she did not have the right to take all your cash since she had a less than honest intent on doing so. Keep all your bank records and find out which teller distributed the money. Then get an attorney pronto asap!! Any judge will look most unfavorably at her actions and if she spends all or over the 50% split the judge will more than likely either demand restitution or reduce her part of the property settlement.

Answer 4

This happened to me too. Luckily I only had $40 in the account!:-)
Legally yes she can. But I got my ex to give me half after explaining to the court that since it was community property she had left me destitute and that it was a selfish, malicious act designed to deprive me. Have your lawyer emphasize this to the court. Her poor, defenseless victim strategy will be blown out of the water! At least it was in my case. I don't pay alimony thanks to this!!
Seriously though. In most states you will get 20K back under community property rules. It'll just take time. Until then view it as a lesson learned and maintain a seperate account. Any future Mrs. Fredo will understand that it's just because of what happened to you in the past and if she doesn't then you really don't need to be w/ her!
My wife and I agreed to have seperate accounts and a joint account. 50% of my pay goes into my own account and the other 50 into a joint. We then had a notarized agreement written up that in case we do split no one can empty the account for themselves. It will be used for bills only and otherwise left alone until the court reaches a decision.

Answer 5

You got it, joint account means joint account. You need to go to the bank now and get a copy of the transaction receipt she signed so when you go to court you can show she already got more than her fair share by taking that money without a court order. She does have a legal right to it, but if you are getting divorced a family court would have ordered all marital property split in a more equal manner. Yes you are screwed. Military wives suck! I am one, but I am also a Sailor that see's more guys get totally screwed over by their 500 pound wives more times than not. If you have children I would run some DNA tests too, you may be pretty surprised.

Answer 6

I had an Air force friend whose deadbeat wife did the same and even though they were joint accounts he proved that money was his Air Force bonus check so the courts made her pay everything back. You cant just take money from a joint account. It has to be split equally or as a judge rules. I would get a lawyer and pursue the *****.

Answer 7

Same thing happened to me on a much smaller scale. I was sol because of the state i was living in at the time. It is a rather hippie state so maybe if you are in a diffrent state you can do something about it if you play your cards right. Just make sure you get a good lawyer. Spending a bit more on a better lawyer can save you thousands in the long run. Please dont make the same mistake I did and get a cheapo lawyer. Good luck man.

Answer 8

This happens way too much to soldiers. Allotment is all I can say!
I personally would kill her.
And yes you are sool, sorry.

This is my wife's log in so if you don't like the answer don't take it out on her.

An Old Guard Soldier

Answer 9

Sorry to hear about this.
You'll want a record from the bank that she did this so you can present it to the judge when things are getting divided up at the divorce hearing. You should get credit for half the amount deducted from other assets being distributed.

Get hopping and make all the rest of your joint assets where they require both signatures to liquidate. Banks and other financial organizations you're dealing with will know what to do.

Answer 10

Sucks to be you. I have a friend in the military that this happpened to plus i am a soldier in the army i am air borne.
Get a really good laywer and take care of the bank statements and hope to God that you get your money back.

Answer 11

First off, I'm sorry to hear about that. Second, I think you should be able to get bank statements showing this transaction and you should be able to dispute this in court; I'm assuming a lawyer's office is your next stop after the bank. Again, sorry to hear about this, but I think all is not lost as long as you act on it now!