My Ex Emptied Our Bank Account After Separation. What Can I Do?

Money can move very quickly after separation.

One person may be worried that the other will withdraw funds from a joint account. Someone may already have emptied an offset account. Or you may realise for the first time that your former partner has always controlled the finances and you are not even sure what the two of you own.

There are steps that can be taken in each of those situations.

The important thing is to deal with the problem that actually exists, rather than waiting to see what happens next.

If the money is still there, consider protecting the account

Where there is a significant amount of money sitting in a joint account after separation, we generally advise clients to consider locking the account.

You can contact the bank and ask about placing a joint authority or lock on it.

The important thing to understand is that this generally restricts both people. Your former partner cannot simply withdraw the funds, but neither can you.

The purpose is to preserve the money while the property settlement is being worked through.

What if my ex has already taken the money?

If a large amount has already been removed from a joint or offset account, normally the first step is to ask for it to be returned or preserved somewhere it cannot simply be spent.

We may write to the other person asking for the funds to be placed back into the account so it can be locked, or asking for the money to be transferred into a solicitor's trust account pending the property settlement.

That gives the parties time to deal with the property matter without the money disappearing in the meantime.

What if they refuse?

If the other person will not agree to return or preserve the funds, it may be necessary to ask the court to intervene.

An urgent injunction can be sought to freeze funds, or the court can be asked to make an order requiring the person who removed the money to place it into another account, including a solicitor's trust account, while the matter is being resolved.

What if I do not actually know what we own?

This is another situation we see.

One person may have managed the money throughout the relationship. Property might be in their name. Bank accounts or investments may not have been something the other person dealt with day to day.

Separation can then leave someone asking a very basic question: how do I start a property settlement when I do not know what is there?

There is a duty for both parties to provide what is called full and frank disclosure.

That can include bank statements, superannuation statements and information about properties owned so that the asset pool can actually be identified.

What if my ex is not disclosing everything?

There are still ways to obtain information.

For example, a property search can be used to identify property held in your former partner's name that you may not have known about.

Once court proceedings have commenced, subpoenas can also be used to obtain certain records. If a bank account has not been disclosed, for example, a subpoena may be used to seek the relevant statements.

You do not need to know everything before you start

Not having controlled the finances during the relationship does not mean you need to remain in the dark after separation.

Likewise, seeing money disappear from a joint account does not necessarily mean there is nothing that can be done.

Depending on where things are up to, the next step may be locking an account, asking for money to be preserved, seeking urgent orders or beginning the disclosure process so you can understand what is actually in the asset pool.

The starting point is working out what has happened to the money and what needs to be protected now.