Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and the Yahoo Answers website is now in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Would this be considered theft?
I have (or had) an agreement with my soon to be ex wife. Instead of paying child support, I would cover the mortgage, which works out to $1800/ month. She would cover the bills and groceries for our 3 sons, although I've been buying about $300/ month in groceries for them.
We still have a joint bank account, so I would deposit the cheques from my separate account, with "mortgage/ child support" written in the memo space. I've been doing this for the past 7 months.
I checked the account balance the other day, and found out that she had withdrawn $500 cash, and used $1100 to pay the bills that were supposed to come out of her money.
When I asked her why she couldn't cover the bills, she told me to mind my own business.
What I'm wondering is, would this be considered theft?
9 Answers
- Mr WarriorLv 79 years agoFavorite Answer
Its a joint bank account, so its not really theft.
or should i say its hard to prove because it is a joint bank account.
Ultimately, if you are paying the mortgage, instead of child support, agreed upon by the ex wife.
Why are you not just paying the mortgage directly.
Instead your putting it in the joint bank account, making the money available to her to spend.
Furthermore, dont give her cash for groceries. She might spend the cash on something else.
Pay her in supermarket gift vouchers in equivalent. Then she has no choice but to buy food.
- michaleLv 45 years ago
I purely have this photo, in my head, of a grown up guy peddling up and down the line on a touch childrens bike. He ought to placed some baseball playing cards interior the spokes and get some rear view mirrors. appears like a actual weenie. yet no it is not robbery. purely stupid. bypass on.
- LeeleLv 69 years ago
No, you are married and you are singly and jointly obligated to the household and the bills. As long as both your names are on the checking account there is nothing you can do. You need a separate account in a different bank. Use those checks to put money into the joint account. Only put your agreed share in the joint account. You will be saving some money that she can not get. She may well have put the $1,100. in her separate account. My late husband drank. He often would carry a check that was never accounted for. I opened a separate account and payed in my half of the bill money. I payed the bills from the joint account. If his checks bounced he was responsible. We were both in a second marriage. It worked and I had no reason to criticize. Do not open another account n the same bank. The bank can mingle the funds. BofA. did that to me.
Source(s): twice around the block - Anonymous9 years ago
I don't think it's theft because she is still your wife and it doesn't sound like you have a legally binding agreement that you could refer to in a dispute such as this. Once you get divorced your joint account will be closed and she will not have the opportunity to help herself to your money again. In the meantime, she has been dishonest but she has an enormous ace up her sleeve: she's looking after the children and children are expensive. They will always need new shoes, clothes, sports gear etc etc. Even if she's spending the money on handbags for herself you know she'll always use the child card. Personally, if you can't trust her to be honest, I'd close the joint account now.
- M.Lv 79 years ago
It's considered lying and defaulting on a contract.
Straighten it out soon, because she will get everything all screwed up and YOU will be the bad guy!
- YetiLv 79 years ago
I expect it might depend on where you are in the divorce process and if your agreement with her about this stuff is entirely verbal or what.
But if you're still married and have a joint account, no, I don't believe it's "theft."
- 9 years ago
If you have a written agreement and she broke it,then yes it is theft.Do not put any more money in the joint account.In fact if you can remove yourself from it the better.Keep records of everything so when it comes to court,you have proof that she has taken more money than was agreed upon.