Is data I obtained using my husband's account info admissable against him

[erinmichelle]

Before filing, my soon-ex gave me all of his private account info/passwords to help him stay organized. Much of the information the accounts provide could seriously benefit me (& possibly incriminate him) in the divorce. My lawyer doesn't think it is admissible since my name is not on the accounts, & I could be charged with identity theft. His answer, of course, is to try & get this same data through subpoenas & discovery (= very costly & largely insufficient return). I was, at first, accepting of cutting my losses until my soon-ex recently contacted me to plead that, since his mother/cash cow just died, he couldn't afford his lawyer & was suffering financially, physically, & emotionally. Before acting on my sympathy as usual, I felt compelled to verify his predicament by checking his bank account online, & what I discovered is that, not only is this guy on an Internet buying spree; he is doing so by exploiting his developmentally-challenged daughters savings accounts - THOUSAND$ each month. (His recently deceased mom/their grandmother established the accounts, primarily in the girls' names for their own use, but they likely do not understand this.) This has only occurred since her death in Dec, which the transactions reveal. Basically I am sole-witness to this criminal act, but my evidence may be useless if not self-damaging. Are there exceptions made for private individuals in civil cases? If so, I hope to help my stepdaughters & also show that he has had an unreported second income. (A third unreported as well, but I have to draw the line somewhere!) Please please PLEASE help in whatever capacity. My final hearing/settlement is Apr 13 (Florida).

 

[antrc170]

You would not be able to use the data in court and could face criminal and civil penalties for accessing it.

When you were married and your husband gave you access to the accounts, that is okay because you had permission and the marrige creates a single entity (ie. you can file taxes together, open mail addressed to the other, obligate each party to debt, etc).

However, once a seperation or divorce was filed that permission is reasonably revoked as you and your husband effectively become two entities instead of one. Accessing that accounts after the effective seperation or filing for divorce is no longer permissable.

 

[swalsh411]

This would fall under what's known as the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine. Just like the police cannot illegally obtain evidence and expect it to hold up in court, neither can you.

Stay out of your step-daughters business. You aren't her mother.

 

[erinmichelle]

Thanks to you both. I just misunderstood in thinking I heard there was a possibility I could use the once-priviledged information in a civil case, since all he stands to lose would be a percentage of his "equitable division" by being in contempt of court. I guess I could potentially lose more... So I am rotally wrong in thinking this stuff is admissable in a non-criminal court??? I realize there are penalties, but I could bear them depending on the severity if it results in truly equitable division.
Where my stepchildren are concerned, I do realize this is not technically my business, but from a simple moral standpoint, these girls have absolutely no one else looking out for them. The mother is a deadbeat, the grandparents are all gone, he blocks my communication with them, & then there is him. Fortunately since posting this, I was informed that I should notify the Commissioner of Accounts, so perhaps doing so will allow me to stay out of their business eventually, as you say. I may not be their mother, but I still take their welfare to heart.

 

[ecmst12]

I cannot express strongly enough what a bad idea it was to access his accounts without permission. Or how much of a WORSE idea it would be to admit to a court that you did it. Forget what you saw, and forget the passwords to his accounts.