Do I have to split the money with my spouse? How much can I withdrawal? What can I use these funds to pay for?
Should I Clean Out the Bank Account Transcript
Should you clean out the bank account? There is not another topic that I deal with that has more emotional energy surrounding it than this one. Boy, you clean out a bank account and your spouse’s head explodes. You can expect that.
Should you do that? It really requires a balance between financial needs and emotions. You’ve got to look at what your particular financial situation is. Do you need the money? Do you need to pay for moving, for housing, for child expenses, for attorney fees, for your day to day expenses? If you need the money, regardless of what the emotional response is going to be, the answer is pretty clear if you need it, go ahead and take it.
If on the other hand, you don’t need the money then the answer is also clear. If you don’t need it, don’t take it. There will be emotional upset. It will make it harder to negotiate. If you don’t need it, there’s no reason to make the whole situation more difficult than it might otherwise be.
The real issue for most us is that we fall somewhere in the middle. Maybe we don’t desperate need the money, but we need it because we’re going to have uncertainty about our expenses and what our future holds. So we’d like to go ahead and get the cash, at least, temporarily so that we can move forward. When we’re in that situation, the first thing that inevitably occurs to us is that instead of taking all of the money we’ll take half of the money.
Let me tell you from experience that taking half creates just as much upset as taking all of it. If you’re in for a penny you’re in for a pound. You might as well take the whole thing. And so you really are doing this balance. Do I need it? Am I willing to deal with the upset, and ultimately you’re going to have to make a decision and determine whether this the right course of action for you and your family.
Now this may happen to you. You may think you’re going to go and take the money. You show up at the bank and guess what, it’s gone. Is there anything you can do in that set of circumstances? Yes, there’s something called the interim distribution that a court can order. There is a way to go and have some of that money returned to you. But realistically you don’t want to spend the money on attorney fees to get an interim distribution unless you desperately need the money because you’re going to spend so much to get back whatever it is that you’re seeking that there may not be a cost justification in doing it.
Bottom line – should you clean out the bank accounts? Yes, if you really need it. No, if you don’t and it’s a tough call if you fall somewhere in the middle. Do that balance and make a decision that’s right for you and your family.
