What To Do If Your Spouse Empties The Bank Account In A Florida Divorce

One of the most common early issues that come up in Orlando divorce cases occurs when one of the parties removes money from a joint bank account without any warning to the other party.

There are two common ways this happens, one is generally permitted by the courts while the other can get a person in trouble

In situations where a party takes only half of a marital checking or savings account they are generally seen to be acting within their rights to do so. This is as long as the entire account was truly marital. 

This is especially true if the person pulling out the money can argue that they have a legitimate fear that the other side might unilaterally remove all the money and that they only took their half in order to protect those funds.

Though removing half of the money from a marital account may not land you in hot water with the judge, it will often come as a “shot across the bow” to the other side and can lead to more conflict in the divorce case. This means that the decision to unilaterally remove finds from a marital bank account should only be made after careful consideration and with the assistance of an experienced Orlando attorney.

The second most common way that this happens is where a spouse removes all of the money from a joint bank account

This situation can usually get that person in trouble with the courts. This is especially true if they attempt to conceal or hide those funds.

Here in Orlando Florida, there is a standing administrative order that is binding on all divorce litigants that forbids parties from unilaterally dissipating and concealing assets such as bank accounts.

This means that a party to a divorce who takes it upon themselves to take all of the money out of a marital account may very well find themselves on the wrong end of a motion for contempt for violation of this administrative order.

If you are going through a divorce in Orlando Florida then you will need the assistance of an experienced Orlando divorce lawyer to assist you in your case.

If the other party has taken funds from a marital account without your permission and you believe that they acted wrongfully there may be precious little time to take action in order to get those funds back before they are dissipated or concealed.

Sean Smallwood

Sean Smallwood is an Orlando divorce attorney for the law firm Sean Smallwood, Orlando Divorce & Family Law P.A. where he represents clients in all areas of family law and divorce. 100% of the practice is devoted to family law. As an attorney in Orlando, he has helped many families with a wide variety of family law cases including Divorce, Child Custody, Child Support, and many other issues.