Question:

My wife left me two years ago and moved three hours away against my consent. At the time, I was not working but I have tried to save my house from going into foreclosure. She walked out on all of our financial commitments and even stole money from our accounts. How do I get my money back from her?

Answer:

As you do not indicate that there is any pending legal action, you will need to commence appropriate legal action.  Depending upon the details of your situation, you may need to pursue divorce, legal separation, a family support action, or perhaps a civil suit to recover property.   It may be legally presumed that her withdrawal of funds from joint accounts is permitted under the terms of your accounts or that by you not taking any legal action to date you have consented to the actions by your wife.  You should consult an attorney as soon as possible to evaluate your situation and how to prevent any further complications.

Richard Coffee is a Litigation Manager in the Belleville Illinois office of Cordell & Cordell. He is an experienced divorce attorney whose practice is devoted to domestic litigation. He is licensed in the State of Illinois and is admitted to practice law in the U.S. District Courts for Northern, Central and Southern Illinois.

Mr. Coffee has extensive domestic litigation trial experience representing clients in courts throughout Illinois on all aspects of domestic litigation, including the representation of clients who are current or retired military personnel with issues under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act and the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act, clients involved in state court jurisdictional disputes due to the relocation of one or both parties from or to Illinois, and clients with government or private pension benefit valuation and division issues.