Typical Divorce Questions -- Part
2
1. Should I move out of the house? No.
When you move out of the marital home you open yourself up to a claim of
abandonment. If there are children
involved in your divorce, moving out could hurt you when it comes time to deciding
on custody. Once you leave the marital
home it becomes harder to get back in.
Keep in mind, however, that if your name is on the title, then you do not
lose rights to the marital home simply because you move out. A court will need to enter an order that
removes you from your rights to the marital home. For example, if you move out and the locks
are changed, you can have a locksmith get your into the house. This only changes if there is a court order.
If you are in fear for your
safety to the safety of your children, you should always protect yourself and
the children. If there has been domestic
violence, you may want to consider filing for a protective order.
2. Can I empty the bank accounts? Maybe.
At a minimum you should make sure you have money to take of your needs
during the divorce and take steps to protect the funds from being taken by your spouse. This may require removing
funds from a joint account and setting up your own account. Do not let your spouse take the money. So much in a divorce is about power and
financial power can often be critical to whether your spouse will want to
settle the case. Draining the bank accounts
can, however, open you up to claim that
you left your spouse destitute (this is especially critical when children are involved)
and the judge may not be happy with you.
You can avoid this by simply providing enough support for your spouse to
survive until the judge makes a ruling on support issues.
No comments:
Post a Comment