My wife and I have separated and we’re working on a settlement, predicating the divorce, which takes place a year later. Crazy SC laws.
Before she left, she cleaned out our joint checking account, and bounced checks, leaving a negative 1800.00 balance. That was May 1, 2006.
I’m trying to negotiate that money be replaced and the balance restored to at least 0 or a positive balance. It was an account I have had in good standing with Bank of America and it’s predecessors for around 20 years. I added her to it when we married.
In the meantime, is leaving it at a negative balance for a few months destroying my credit bit by bit? Should I deposit funds to bring it up and try to get the $ back another way? I have a feeling if I go ahead and replace the funds, I won’t be able to recover them and of course don’t see why I should tie up $1800 for her little maneuver, but if it’s having an adverse effect on my credit, I certainly will take care of it.
Thanks for any advice!
Michael 
As long as the account does not become a collection it will not affect your credit score.
It’ s situations such as those that scare the crap out of me when it comes to marriage. Good Luck! Why don’t you see if the bank can at least suspend the process for the time being. If it’s being negiotiated between you and the bank then hopefully your good standing will serve as enough clout to persuade them “freeze” the account instead of letting time pass until they put it into collection.
A close male relative of mine went through the same thing. Of course with almost anything, hinsight is 20/20. I remember him saying if he’d known now what he did then, he would have documented EVERYTHING. Family court is the worst form of judicial process bar none, but judges seem to favor a person who has documented proof to support their claims.
Fortunately for me now, I handled everything concerning everything, and kept pretty good records. It was a nightmare to go back and organize so many years of paperwork, and I had to request copies of a lot of statements, but I feel like the ball is in my court, so to speak, and I have everything from the dog to the car to the credit cards, to the house, and everything in between pretty well documented. Although as of this moment, the only thing I have is the credit card debt she left me with and a pretty empty house to maintain, which is in both of our names.
A saving grace was that I never added her to a brokerage account I had before we married, which housed the majority of my assets. She had no assets when we married, and is expecting a windfall. I would strongly suggest any newlyweds not be blinded by being in a new marriage and maintain at least one separate account, and in the very back of your head, protect yourself in case the worst happens. My situation proves you just never, ever know.
Proves my theory: You can’t live with them and you can’t live with them…
Keith
Just as a follow-up FYI, I went to the bank and was told by the branch manager that she couldn’t freeze the account, per-se, but my credit wouldn’t go in the crapper until 120 days from the point the balance went negative. She said they’ll send out reminders/notices every so often, but will not turn it over to collections and it won’t adversely effect anything until the 120 days.
If we haven’t settled this mess by the end of July, I’m just going to jump off a tall building anyway.
Are you familiar with “7.62x51mm NATO”? If you’re not, Google it!
Keith
Disclaimer: I’m only kidding…OK?
Ok, well given the fact that they can’t freeze the account. Is there a way they can REASONABLY work out a payment plan so that it DOESN’T go to collections. I know its a sickening thought to pay for someone else’s mistakes, but to be honest it doesn’t seem as though you have many options for the situation unless your somehow able to settle it in court. I wish you the best.
That gigantic sniper rifle probably cost more than the $1800.
Eh…it’s not that bad. It’s not a terrible breakup as far as they go. I can replenish the funds now, but don’t see why I should, since she was the one that intentionally caused the situation. We’re trying to resolve things without going to court, and a stipulation I have in my proposal is that she bring it back up to “0”. Time is of the essence, so hopefully it’ll be taken care of before Aug. 3rd, which will be 120 days. If it’s not, about a week before then, I’ll just make a deposit and take it out of something else we’re going back and forth over. It’s all a crappy, expensive game.
Know why divorce is so expensive?..
It’s worth it.