Spouse possibly using shared account without my knowledge.

[StephenB]

My wife who is a US citizen residing in the USA has informed me that she is divorcing me. We got married in the US and she was insistant we open a joint bank account there. I have never used the account or even had access to it (stupid move, I know). I returned to the UK with the intention of rejoining her upon application and receipt of the relevant visa. Now I am concerned that her motives may have been sinister and that she may use or already have used the account to run up debts in my name. The bank will not remove my name from the account as I do not even have an account number or a social number to give them to access the account. They have told me I need this and that I should ask my soon to be ex wife for it. I am reluctant as I fear that if I give her warning that I want to cut financial ties she may go on a spending spree and saddle me with debt. What is the best way for me to legally protect myself finanically in this situation?

 

[LdiJ]

My wife who is a US citizen residing in the USA has informed me that she is divorcing me. We got married in the US and she was insistant we open a joint bank account there. I have never used the account or even had access to it (stupid move, I know). I returned to the UK with the intention of rejoining her upon application and receipt of the relevant visa. Now I am concerned that her motives may have been sinister and that she may use or already have used the account to run up debts in my name. The bank will not remove my name from the account as I do not even have an account number or a social number to give them to access the account. They have told me I need this and that I should ask my soon to be ex wife for it. I am reluctant as I fear that if I give her warning that I want to cut financial ties she may go on a spending spree and saddle me with debt. What is the best way for me to legally protect myself finanically in this situation?

If you are talking about an ordinary bank account, US bank accounts work differently than European bank accounts work. While she could possibly cause a couple of hundred dollars in overdraft fees, she would not be able to run up any other debt in your name due to a bank account. Once there is no money in the account, the bank will not honor any checks and if she wrote bad checks to people, only she would be legally responsible.

 

[justalayman]

StephenB,

What state is this in?

Contact your bank and speak to a manager. Explain to them that being a Brit you don’t have a social security number and you have forgotten your account number. There is no reason the bank cannot find your account with just your name.
If a manager cannot help, continue to go up the chain of command until you get help or you run out of higher level officers.
There may be an issue with security and they may require you to somehow prove you are you but eventually they should be providing the info you seek.

 

[Just Blue]

My wife who is a US citizen residing in the USA has informed me that she is divorcing me. We got married in the US and she was insistant we open a joint bank account there. I have never used the account or even had access to it (stupid move, I know). I returned to the UK with the intention of rejoining her upon application and receipt of the relevant visa. Now I am concerned that her motives may have been sinister and that she may use or already have used the account to run up debts in my name. The bank will not remove my name from the account as I do not even have an account number or a social number to give them to access the account. They have told me I need this and that I should ask my soon to be ex wife for it. I am reluctant as I fear that if I give her warning that I want to cut financial ties she may go on a spending spree and saddle me with debt. What is the best way for me to legally protect myself finanically in this situation?

How much US dollars did you put in the account?

 

[StephenB]

How much US dollars did you put in the account?

It was a small amount so I am not really worried about that. I'm more concerned about the possibility of her applying for an overdraft. I don't know what the specific limits are on those or what the fees are. More importantly I don't like the idea of her having access to financial documents with my name on them now that she has shown her true face.

I did try escalating my request to a manager but they were unhelpful. I may try once more and make more of a noise.

 

[Just Blue]

It was a small amount so I am not really worried about that. I'm more concerned about the possibility of her applying for an overdraft. I don't know what the specific limits are on those or what the fees are. More importantly I don't like the idea of her having access to financial documents with my name on them now that she has shown her true face.

I did try escalating my request to a manager but they were unhelpful. I may try once more and make more of a noise.

How long did you know her before getting married?

 

[LdiJ]

It was a small amount so I am not really worried about that. I'm more concerned about the possibility of her applying for an overdraft. I don't know what the specific limits are on those or what the fees are. More importantly I don't like the idea of her having access to financial documents with my name on them now that she has shown her true face.

I did try escalating my request to a manager but they were unhelpful. I may try once more and make more of a noise.

The bank is not going to give her an overdraft. The odds of something like that are incredibly slim, and even when a bank does give an overdraft its small.

 

[justalayman]

Depending on what state this is she actually could make you liable for a lot of money both with the account or even without it.

 

[LdiJ]

Depending on what state this is she actually could make you liable for a lot of money both with the account or even without it.

Can you elaborate on how she could do that? At least give some examples? He is asking a question about a bank account.

Community debt otherwise would have nothing to do with the bank account.

 

[justalayman]

Can you elaborate on how she could do that? At least give some examples? He is asking a question about a bank account.

Community debt otherwise would have nothing to do with the bank account.

Community debts most cerrtainly have to do with debts created using a checking account. It deals with all debts. If the wife succeeds in creating a debt, while the husband could seek indemnification either during divorce proceedings or suit against the wife during the marriage, until that time, spouse is equally liable for all debts incurred during marriage.

Especially without knowing how Thea account is designed, saying the wife could not create a debt other than an overdraft fee is irresponsible. I’ve had accounts with overdraft protection where the bank would cover thousands of dollars of technically overdrafts by rolling the overdraft into a loan. That allowed me to go car shopping and simply write a check for the car (within the set limits of the overdraft protection) without opening a loan. I’m not saying the op has such an account but it is only one example of how one can incur debts through a checking account. There are other possibilities of creating a debt by using a checking account that don’t require such an overdraft system. It can involves some marginally illegal activity but none the less it creates a marital debt.

Op would be best served by not ignoring this account believing it will only result in some minor debt due to overdraft fees. If the wife is a con, op could end up with a considerable debt owed. He needs to act to identify the account and close or freeze it ASAP.

 

[LdiJ]

Community debts most cerrtainly have to do with debts created using a checking account. It deals with all debts. If the wife succeeds in creating a debt, while the husband could seek indemnification either during divorce proceedings or suit against the wife during the marriage, until that time, spouse is equally liable for all debts incurred during marriage.

Especially without knowing how Thea account is designed, saying the wife could not create a debt other than an overdraft fee is irresponsible. I’ve had accounts with overdraft protection where the bank would cover thousands of dollars of technically overdrafts by rolling the overdraft into a loan. That allowed me to go car shopping and simply write a check for the car (within the set limits of the overdraft protection) without opening a loan. I’m not saying the op has such an account but it is only one example of how one can incur debts through a checking account. There are other possibilities of creating a debt by using a checking account that don’t require such an overdraft system. It can involves some marginally illegal activity but none the less it creates a marital debt.

Op would be best served by not ignoring this account believing it will only result in some minor debt due to overdraft fees. If the wife is a con, op could end up with a considerable debt owed. He needs to act to identify the account and close or freeze it ASAP.

If the wife is a con, she alone would be responsible for her actions.

 

[HRZ]

If your name is on a joint account a bit of homework w bank should identify it and if you are on it ..you are entitled to access it ..and clean it out and then get your name off...whether to do so is a different question.

State law matters , but if you run up marital debt ahead of the time line then it also falls on her side of equation ..if the divorce tales place in that state .

OP you would be wise to get some prompt legal assistance as to your options and exposure in the place where jurisdiction exists ....iF she married you for your money she may be 3 steps ahead of you with sights on a hefty slice of all that may under the marriage umbrella .

 

[justalayman]

If the wife is a con, she alone would be responsible for her actions.

Wrong, it is a joint account. Debts against the account are joint until a court says otherwise.

And this is especially true in a community property state

 

[LdiJ]

Wrong, it is a joint account. Debts against the account are joint until a court says otherwise.

And this is especially true in a community property state

A bad check would not be a debt against the account! A bad check is a crime committed by the person who wrote the check.

 

[justalayman]

A bad check would not be a debt against the account! A bad check is a crime committed by the person who wrote the check.

A “bad check” has no legal definition. A check writtten with no intent to defraud is not criminal and as such the debt created by writing that check is applied against the joint account and as such becomes a joint debt.

And as I said; until a court determines there is illegal activity, there is, at best, alleged illegal activity. Until that time it is not a crime and as such the debt created is jointly owed by the co-owners of the account.