How to stop spouse from spending 401K monies without a care
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How to stop spouse from spending 401K monies without a care
Spouse has upon retirement age decided he wants to be unfaithful and has even
opened a separate checking account for his retirement monies. He has only
received one Railroad Retirement check that I know of, but I know he has closed
his 401K and believe that he is spending it drinking We have in previous years
had to close my 401K Early with penalties to pay our debt to the IRS. I want
to know how I can stop him from spending the retirement money he has withdrawn
from his 401K account
Asked on August 28, 2018 under Family Law, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You can't stop him from spending money while you and he are married: either spouse can spend whatever they like, on whatever they like. This why some spouses have savings depleted by gambling, others by excessive shopping or by a spouse giving his/her money to a hardluck relative or a charitable cause or religious institution. If you divorce him and get an order dividing assets or entitling you to some level of support from him, that will help control his spending and insure that you get some assets or money, but outside of a divorce, where assets are divided and support ordered, the law does not intervene in spending.
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