This type of behavior is called dissipation of marital assets or property and, unfortunately, it is quite common in pending divorce actions. Each individual case is different and the courts will look to a number of different factors if one party is claiming that the other is taking joint money and either spending it, or attempting to hide it. Basically, the term dissipation is used when a spouse is using money for non-marital purposes at a time when the marriage was in serious trouble. It is not a clear line as to when you can claim something has been dissipated, but the court will look at a variety of factors, including:
- the timing of the expenditure in relation to the parties' separation,
- whether the expenditure was typical of the parties spending habits in the past, would that purchase had been made if the marriage was not in trouble
- whether the expenditure benefited both parties or the financial situation of the parties as a married couple or was for the benefit of one spouse to the exclusion of the other, and
- the need for the expenditure and its amount.
The courts will really try to analyze the intent of the spouse who made the purchases. If it can be proven that the money was taken or spent with the intent to keep the other party from having access to it, then the court will most likely make the dissipating spouse responsible for repaying those funds.
