What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA
I am asking this question on behalf of one of my parents as they are not quite computer literate.
My parents are very close to their retirement age and getting a divorce. Dad had a savings account where a very small portion of his paycheck automatically get deposited when this automatic deposit has been intorduced in his workplace a long time ago. Since it was a small amount, missing that money did not hurt the family finances at the time and since both of them were working, it had never been mentioned.
Now in the stormy days of divorce, it was brought to the table as an asset to be distributed. In years, despite how small the contributions were, the money accumulated, came to thousands of dollars. Or this is how my mom imagined.
The reality was a little different. While their marriage was not doing great in the last few years, dad has pissed off the savings accounts in places like Lake Thaoe and Vegas. Now the money in savings account is only a few hundred bucks.
Is my mom entitled to half of the money that got spent by my dad or will it be too-bad so-sad but you should have kept a tab on that account and a family member got more cash out of community income and nothing more can be done ?
Even though I am posting this question on behalf of my mom here, I am not supporting my mom's side here, because I know in the last few years, she belittled my dad in front of family and friends and alienated him knowingly and she should have seen this coming. So my dad finding an escape in those places is not a surprise to me, but after all money matters are different.
Since they are not rich folks, they are trying to do the divorce without the involvement of pricey attorneys and pretty much agreed on how to distribute the assets, other than this savings account issue and few small memento items of almost no financial value. Does my mom have a legal leg to stand on, when it comes to this spent money ?
I am asking this question on behalf of one of my parents as they are not quite computer literate.
My parents are very close to their retirement age and getting a divorce. Dad had a savings account where a very small portion of his paycheck automatically get deposited when this automatic deposit has been intorduced in his workplace a long time ago. Since it was a small amount, missing that money did not hurt the family finances at the time and since both of them were working, it had never been mentioned.
Now in the stormy days of divorce, it was brought to the table as an asset to be distributed. In years, despite how small the contributions were, the money accumulated, came to thousands of dollars. Or this is how my mom imagined.
The reality was a little different. While their marriage was not doing great in the last few years, dad has pissed off the savings accounts in places like Lake Thaoe and Vegas. Now the money in savings account is only a few hundred bucks.
Is my mom entitled to half of the money that got spent by my dad or will it be too-bad so-sad but you should have kept a tab on that account and a family member got more cash out of community income and nothing more can be done ?
Even though I am posting this question on behalf of my mom here, I am not supporting my mom's side here, because I know in the last few years, she belittled my dad in front of family and friends and alienated him knowingly and she should have seen this coming. So my dad finding an escape in those places is not a surprise to me, but after all money matters are different.
Since they are not rich folks, they are trying to do the divorce without the involvement of pricey attorneys and pretty much agreed on how to distribute the assets, other than this savings account issue and few small memento items of almost no financial value. Does my mom have a legal leg to stand on, when it comes to this spent money ?