A woman in California filed for divorce against her husband. He is now using all available cash to pay off their debts, without her agreement. Is he permitted to do so and how can she stop him?
A woman in California filed for divorce against her husband. He is now using all available cash to pay off their debts, without her agreement. Is he permitted to do so and how can she stop him?
In California, several automatic temporary restraining orders go into effect after a divorce is filed. They are listed on the back of Form FL-110, and include a prohibition on "transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate,” outside of the usual course of business and other than for necessities of life, without permission from the other spouse or the court.
It is thus be possible for the spouse who objects to this use of the cash to take her husband to court and ask, at a minimum, that the court order him to stop. It would be sensible for her to discuss the details of her situation with a family lawyer, so as to determine her best course of action.