# Just a general question about finances in marriage.



## jonty30 (Oct 23, 2021)

I'm just wondering if, from the time a person is married, one person is a saver and investor in the marriage and the other is a spend-thrift, if it can be demonstrated that the incomes were split during the marriages and one person generally saved and invested their half of the income but the other person spent their half on themselves, would that be recognized in a divorce court?

Or would the person who saved end up having to split the assets anyway?


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## Livvie (Jan 20, 2014)

Split assets anyway.


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## Anastasia6 (May 28, 2017)

Unless you have actual separate finances I don’t think it would work


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## BeyondRepair007 (Nov 4, 2021)

Agree with others.

I think the idea of splitting assets revolves around the idea that one spouse attained assets only by having the loving supporting environment that allowed them to do that.

So in your scenario, one could spend irrationally only because of the support of the other, and one could take investment risks only because of the support of the other spouse.

That‘s how I’ve understood this to be, in the US, in my state.

<not a lawyer>


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## Openminded (Feb 21, 2013)

The saver gets screwed and the spender gets rewarded in my state if they divorce.


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## Rob_1 (Sep 8, 2017)

Unless you can proof that financial shenanigans were done unbeknownst to you, most states are 50/50 these days. In other words if you knew that your partner was a spendthrift, and it was done through the marriage and you knew, but did nothing, then you're screwed. You condoned it, the judge will not penalize, and split as per the state status. That's my take (I'm not a lawyer).


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## Bobby5000 (Oct 19, 2011)

Most likely scenario- your lawyer agrees with you, the spender's lawyer does not, and you go through $25,000 trying to reallocate the $15,000 at issue.


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## DTO (Dec 18, 2011)

Rob_1 said:


> Unless you can proof that financial shenanigans were done unbeknownst to you, most states are 50/50 these days. In other words if you knew that your partner was a spendthrift, and it was done through the marriage and you knew, but did nothing, then you're screwed. You condoned it, the judge will not penalize, and split as per the state status. That's my take (I'm not a lawyer).


This. My lawyer (and he was a good one) flat out told me the judges don't look back into the marriage to see who did what. Unless you have evidence that your spouse was setting you up, then you don't really have any recourse.


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