Can my spouse cut me off financially during divorce? | SPM (2024)

FAQs

Can my spouse cut me off financially during divorce? | SPM? ›

If your spouse has financially cut you off, you have legal rights. You are entitled to something called the “financial status quo”, and it is illegal—and financial abuse—for your spouse to keep marital funds from you.

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.

Short- or long-term spousal support, also called separation maintenance (or alimony in a divorce) may be required if one partner is financially reliant on the other. You may also be entitled to spousal support if your marriage lasted a certain period of time, or because of a variety of other factors.

File a motion.

In some cases, you may need to file an emergency motion asking the court to order your husband to pay certain bills or give you access to money to meet essential needs.

Divorce is expensive, and researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis quantified some of the losses. After separation, men's incomes on average drop 17% while they decline 9% for women, researchers said in a blog post Monday.

Men Often Experience a Loss of Identity

But when a divorce happens, men lose most of it – the spouse, the children, the familial bond, and the happiness. The custody of the children is often given to the mother, while the father only gets the visitation rights.

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. Our attorneys can advise you regarding what information you need to gather and how to address your fears of having no funds.

An automatic temporary restraining order (ATRO): This legal document is a restraining order placed on each spouse. The ATRO focuses solely on property, preventing married couples from spending money that would upend and alter their marriage's current situation.

Can my husband leave me with nothing in divorce? ›

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.

The law states that half of their income is yours. But if your spouse chooses to ignore this law and cut you off financially you will need a court order to force a spouse to share the income. It will take 90 days to see a judge and to get such a court order. 90 days of no income can feel like a lifetime.

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

Women Suffer More Financially After a Divorce

One study showed that their standard of living can drop by almost 50%, while a man's standard of living typically only drops about 20%. Another study found that 75% of all women who apply for welfare benefits do so specifically because of a disrupted marriage.

Economic quality of life

Ultimately, the overall economic quality of a man's life, based on earnings and amount spent on living expenses, increases after his divorce. He continues to earn more but bears fewer family expenses. The overall economic quality of a woman's life, post-divorce, decreases.

Research indicates life after divorce for men is more traumatic than it is for women, taking a more significant emotional toll as well as sparking physical deterioration. Women file for divorce 70% of the time, and when it's a shock, with no time to prepare — that has a marked impact on how men handle divorce.