Insight into Accounts: Legal Advice & Action

Questioner

I have a question about access to my husband's checking and savings accounts. We each have a checking account in our own name, and we also have a joint account. His salary is deposited into his account, and the fixed costs are debited from there. My income is deposited into my account. This is very little, because I didn't have a job and have been working a very modest freelance job for a month now, as an additional income. He deposits household money into the joint account, which I can then use to buy groceries. He also has a savings account in his name. When I have to make larger expenses, I have to ask him for money. Now I have no access to his accounts and therefore cannot see what happens in his accounts. Quite a lot must have happened there in the past. For example, in 2014, without my knowledge, he speculated with shares and this went completely wrong. He used a large amount of money to purchase those shares, from me, without my knowledge. This was after selling goods from an inheritance from my parents. He had this money deposited into his account, instead of mine, under the guise that this was more convenient in terms of division for the heirs at a later time. I trusted him. When he had gone wrong with the shares, he confessed and said that there was a sky-high tax debt (he also withdrew money from an 'empty' BV). He also used money from his parents' inheritance for this. It concerns a lot of money. I believed him, and thought that he would share his account with me, but this did not happen. I am now at the point where I want to see his accounts. He has always refused this. He said that I can see the expenses and income in a statement that he has created and maintains himself via Excel. I am worried and want to know how we are doing financially. Also because I suspect that he is hiding more from me, including the years 2011 and 2012, I want to see with my own eyes what went in and out in these years. My savings (from inheritance) are gone, because I have also withdrawn from it, since I had to ask him for money for everything. He has made a fairly large expenditure for himself for a hobby (tens of thousands). This was discussed, but this took place before I knew that he was taking risks with shares. We are married in community of property and have our own home (which still has a large mortgage on it, but also equity). Can I demand access to his accounts if he continues to refuse? And if so, how do I do that? Thank you in advance for your response.

Lawyer

You do indeed have the right to inspect all accounts. If you are getting divorced, there are many possibilities! You can demand inspection in summary proceedings, you can seize or detain him, request a provisional measure, etc. You will need a lawyer for this. Once you are divorced and you can still find out the assets he has concealed, you can even claim 100% (instead of 50%) of the assets in question. Finally, I note that inheritances usually belong to everyone's private assets, which do not need to be shared.