A question that is frequently asked by clients considering separating from their spouses is “Can I withdraw funds from our joint checking/savings account? If so, should I, and how much?” The answer to the first part of this question is clearly “yes.” The funds in a joint account are marital funds, and as such, may be withdrawn by either party at any time. It does not matter which party deposited the funds into the account, so the fact that one spouse may have worked in the home (raising children perhaps) instead of outside the home does not matter.
Whether one should remove the funds is a little more fact specific question. The best course of action across the board is to safeguard the marital estate. With that thought in mind, it is always easier to protect those assets which are in your direct possession or under your control. For instance, you will know the location of all funds that you remove from a joint account, as opposed to possibly not knowing if your spouse were to remove them.
Well, how much should you remove from the account? This is often the most difficult question to answer, and I believe that the answer is largely based on strategy. In many cases, it makes sense to remove roughly half of the funds in the account, which has the potential for creating less ill will. In those cases in which generating goodwill is more important than immediate access to the funds, it might make sense to leave all or most of the funds in this account. On the other hand, if you do not have access to funds with which to live or you fear that your spouse may hide those funds, it might be appropriate to withdraw all or most of the funds immediately. Of course, if you do so, you should be prepared to account for those funds at the appropriate time.
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