Your spouse cannot keep all of the money from you
Another big issue I run into with clients is their fear that they cannot afford an attorney because the other spouse has all of the money. For the most part, everyone has access to the same pool of funds. If your spouse refuses to provide money to you but you know that there are funds in a bank account that can be used to pay for an attorney and other expenses, an attorney can file a motion to have the court order the other spouse to provide the money.
Normally, this order is subject to final allocation which means that you may have to pay that money back or have it credited to the spouse. For example, if there is a savings account with $20,000 and a court ordered $5000 of that to be given to you as part of the divorce, you may only get another $5000 of the original $20,000 as part of the final settlement. Of course, you could also get your original half, or $10,000 and your spouse is left with only $5000. It all depends on the facts of the case and how you want to settle. The important thing is that just because your spouse gave you the money now, does not mean that he or she will not get it back in some form.
Posted on February 3, 2010, in Articles and tagged Common Concerns. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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