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Separated wife takes large sum of cash out of joint account after 2 years of separation

Asked over 2 years ago - Dallas, TX

Scenario: Wife leaves husband and minor son May 2007. Takes up her own residence in a surrounding city and has lived on her own ever since. Does not contribute monetarily towards the son's upbringing. Has not accessed the joint bank account in over 2 years. Husband hasn't taken the wife off the account to date. Husband sells his business and deposits $6400 in the account. Wife text messages the husband informing him that she has withdrawn $3200 from the account because she is entitled to the funds.

Is there a law broken in this scenario? Does fiduciary duty play a part in this?

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Jonathan Lee Stovall

Reputation Level 10

Answered over 2 years ago. Family Law Attorney in Beaumont, TX.

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Without a divorce, there is still a community estate, so she has not broken a law. She has taken advantage of your not taking her name off of the account, but that is it. You should have filed for divorce. If you file now, you probably have a good argument that the "community" ended for all practical reasons once she left. You may be able to convince the Judge to make her pay you back since she'd already been living on her own. This is why separation is not a good idea in the long run - either get a divorce or don't.

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