Business Credit Cards and Divorce
Running a business with your spouse can be a source of family togetherness, but the chances are just as good that it will cause conflict or deepen existing conflicts. Most businesses fail within five years of their incorporation, and if you are lucky, your marriage will survive even after your business folds. Sometimes, the business takes the marriage down with it, even if the business manages to rise from the ashes somehow; businesses have plenty of restructuring options available that can enable them to shapeshift after a catastrophe, whereas marriages do not. Likewise, the couples who see the level of drama in their relationship decrease after they file for divorce are the lucky few. Some people try to cause as much disruption to their spouses as they can while the divorce is pending, including by making it harder for their spouse to access marital funds. If the ownership of a family business or your spouse’s efforts to disrupt your finances are complicating factors in your divorce case, contact a Boca Raton divorce lawyer.
Cutting Off Your Estranged Spouse’s Access to Money Is a Supervillain Move
The court determines the division of marital property based on the couple’s financial status as it was when the parties filed for divorce; this is what you must present to the court in the financial disclosures that you file toward the beginning of your divorce case. You should not attempt to make major changes to your financial situation until your divorce becomes final. If you were unemployed at the time of the divorce filing, of course you can reenter the workforce, but you should not sell marital assets or give them away. If one spouse tries to get rid of marital assets while the divorce is pending, the court might issue a status quo order, prohibiting major financial changes until the divorce becomes final.
Meanwhile, the parties still have to pay bills on two households. You cannot close your marital bank account or cancel your spouse’s credit card just because you are mad that your spouse filed for divorce. The court might even order you to pay temporary alimony, just to ensure that the mortgage on the marital home and other household bills continue getting paid.
When the Family Business Is a Third Wheel in Your Divorce Case
A Florida couple that operated a family business together got a divorce, and soon after the divorce filing, the husband canceled the wife’s business credit card. The wife petitioned the court to order the husband to reinstate her credit card, but the husband argued that the party harmed by the cancellation of the credit card was the business, not the wife. If your spouse acts like that, it is best to communicate with your spouse through your lawyer.
Contact Schwartz | White About Financial Issues During the Pendency of Divorce
A South Florida family law attorney can help you if your spouse is messing with your finances while your divorce is pending. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15571837588810228171&q=divorce+royal&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10&as_ylo=2014&as_yhi=2024
