Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 08:11
My wife just filed for divorce and I got to do a financial statement. I assume she has to do one too and I was wondering if a bank account that she has jointly with her mother (lots of money) has to be included as a marital asset? I'm not named on the account but I'm pretty sure my wife has access to the money. Thanks.
Joint assets in divorce
I think you may be asking two questions. First, ANY asset that your wife has an ownership interest in must be disclosed on the financial statement provided to the court and opposing party. That is true even if the interest is fractional or joint. However, your second question, is whether you may be entitled to a portion of that account once the Court makes its decision regarding the division of marital assets. That question can only be answered by the judge. Depending on the facts and circumstances surrounding the creation of the account, it is possible that your wife may succeed in having the funds excluded from the marital estate. For example, in some cases, assets that have been placed in a divorcing party's name solely for estate planning purposes may be excluded from the marital estate. The best advice I can give you now is to hire an experienced Massachusetts divorce lawyer and have her help you through the process. Good luck.