questions & answers

Question: My wife and I are currently going through a divorce. She opened a separate checking account before I filed but transferred her check to her new account afterwards and didn’t inform me about it until payday because we both get paid the same week. I need to know if she’s in violation of a court order because it was my understanding that you cannot hide funds, get loans etc. until the divorce is final??

Answer: When a couple files for dissolution of the marriage, Arizona Revised Statutes, Section 25-315 automatically invokes an injunction that states in section 1(a)  "That both parties are enjoined from transferring, encumbering, concealing, selling or otherwise disposing of any of the joint, common or community property of the parties except if related to the usual course of business, the necessities of life, or court fees and reasonable attorney fees . . . ."  The court usually considers the individual party's wages or salary as falling within the realm of usual course of business or necessities of life, but that depends on how much each spouse earns relative to the other.  If one party has considerably more earning power than the other, the court may order temporary spousal support.  If earnings are relatively equal, the court may allow each spouse to retain his or her earnings as living expenses.