You check your bank account during divorce proceedings and discover the balance shows zero. Your spouse withdrew all the money without your knowledge or consent. This situation creates immediate financial stress and leaves you wondering how you will pay bills or afford basic necessities. Kentucky law provides ways to address this problem and hold your spouse accountable.
Immediate steps you can take
Acting quickly helps protect your interests when your spouse drains joint accounts. You have several options to address the emergency:
- Document everything: Print bank statements, withdrawal records and any communications about the missing money to create a clear paper trail of what happened.
- File for emergency relief: Kentucky courts can issue temporary orders that require your spouse to return funds or provide financial support while the divorce moves forward.
- Request a restraining order: Courts may prohibit both spouses from transferring, hiding or spending marital assets without agreement or court approval.
- Open a separate account: Move any remaining funds you control into an account in only your name to prevent further unauthorized withdrawals.
- Track the money: Try to find out where the withdrawn funds went since courts will want to know if your spouse spent it, hid it or transferred it somewhere else.
Kentucky judges take financial misconduct seriously during divorce cases. Your spouse’s actions might qualify as dissipation of marital assets.
How courts handle asset dissipation
Dissipation happens when one spouse wastes or hides marital property to keep it away from the other spouse. Kentucky law requires courts to divide marital property fairly. If one spouse tries to waste shared property, court can punish this behavior when dividing assets. Judges might award you a larger share of remaining property to make up for the money your spouse took. Courts can also order your spouse to reimburse you for withdrawn funds if they cannot show the money went toward legitimate marital expenses.
The timing matters because you need to act while the court still has authority over your case. Legal guidance can help you file the right motions quickly and build a strong case showing what your spouse did with the missing money.