When a marriage turns sour, some disenchanted spouses act out in ways that hurt the person they are divorcing. Spending down of joint marital assets is one way alienated partners can hit each other below the belt. When one spouse spends marital assets in a manner that is self-serving and significantly outside of the norm, that is called “dissipation of assets.”

When a spouse spends marital assets extravagantly, as long as it is consistent with that spouse’s behavior over the term of marriage, it is not likely to be considered dissipation. But a mid-divorce drunken spending spree or tremendous losses at the casinos are both likely to be met with judicial skepticism.  When a spouse spends marital assets in an unusual or punitive manner, or spends only for their own benefit in anticipation of the marriage ending, then the other spouse can take legal action to prevent dissipation of additional assets and possibly recoup from the spender spouse the value of the wasted expenditures.

Understand, dissipation only takes place at the end of the marriage. A judge does not go back to the earlier marital time, but rather determines if one spouse’s outsized spending at the end of the marriage was done with intent to dissipate assets.  Here are the criteria used to examine late-marriage spending patterns:

• The proximity of the expense to the marital breakdown;
• Whether the expense was typical of the partners during the marriage;
• Whether the expenditure benefited both partners or only one;
• The amount and necessity of the expense;
• The intent of the spender to diminish the marital estate.

In some cases, a judge will issue a restraining order to prevent further dissipation of assets. This allows each spouse to spend according to his or her needs, but does not allow any large unilateral spending. This preserves the Court’s ability to divide joint marital assets in an equitable manner. If one spouse is found to have spent the assets in an inappropriate or unfair manner as the marriage was dissolving, the judge may compensate the other spouse by dividing the assets disproportionately, in favor of the innocent spouse.

If you believe your spouse is spending or hiding joint marital assets, you need a family law attorney to advocate for your rights. Unfair spending practices or siphoning of joint marital assets is dissipation, a symptom of marital breakdown we aim to set right. Call Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C. or contact us online to schedule a reduced fee initial consultation today.  You will be glad you did.