How are joint accounts distributed in a divorce?
Once a couple starts a divorce, there are many loose ends that have to be resolved. Some of the most important of these are of a financial nature. More specifically, all joint accounts that were shared during the marriage must be distributed. All joint savings and checking accounts, credit cards, equity credit lines, safe deposit boxes, investment and similar type holdings, and property ownership are some of the issues, to name a few, will have distributed as part of the divorce process. All joint bank savings and checking accounts will have to at some point be liquidated and in some proportion divided. I always advise my clients at the time of separation not only to open a new checking or savings account in your own name only, but to try and deposit some monies into such. In this way you will not only be guaranteed to have fiscal reserves in time of need, but that no one but yourself can access such accounts. In summary, if the parties are civil in a divorce case, then the distributio
