A joint bank account is any bank account owned by two or more people. Many married couples use joint bank accounts, giving each party the right to make deposits and withdrawals and take other actions regarding the account.
During the divorce process, the court will likely view any funds in a joint account as marital properly, regardless of who deposited or spent more money during the marriage.
It is generally recommended that you close joint accounts as soon as possible after you decide to get divorced. At the very least, you should not take any drastic action with joint accounts. If one spouse goes on a spending spree without the other’s permission, there could be legal repercussions, especially if the divorce is already in process.
What to do
As mentioned above, your best bet is to close joint bank accounts.
You and your spouse should agree to close the account, split the funds in it and open new accounts in your own name. But if you are not on speaking terms or cannot agree to split the funds, you should then speak to a divorce attorney to determine the legality of going ahead with splitting the funds yourself.
Before taking any action at all, make sure you get the go-ahead from your lawyer. And if you have any concerns about your spouse withdrawing money, you can contact the bank, inform them of your pending divorce and request a freeze on the account.
If your spouse has a history of any sort of abuse, talk to your attorney about any further assistance the courts my be able to provide.
For more information about how you can handle joint bank accounts in your divorce, contact an experienced Minnesota divorce lawyer at Appelhof, Pfeifer & Hart, P.A.
