What is Financial Abuse in Marriage?

What You Need to Know About Financial Abuse in Marriage

Financial abuse is a form of domestic violence that involves using finances to control someone. Here’s everything you need to know about financial abuse in marriage.

Financially abused spouses usually do not have financial independence in their lives. Some examples of spousal financial abuse include:

An individual sabotaging their spouses’ employment or prohibiting them from working.
An individual stealing their spouses’ assets.
An individual forcing their spouse to cover their personal financial obligations.
An individual refusing to give their spouse money for essential needs, or using money for essential needs as leverage.
Coerced debt, which can involve an individual taking on debt in their spouses’ name, or forcing their spouse to take on debt.
Any other form of restricting their spouses’ financial freedom.

Financial abusers may use any methods of abuse that are employed in other forms of domestic abuse, ranging from emotional manipulation to physical violence. According to the California Senate, 52% of survivors of domestic violence experience over $10,000 per year in coerced debt. A study conducted by the University of Wisconsin Center for Financial Security revealed that 99% of survivors of marital domestic violence also experienced some form of financial abuse. Spousal financial abuse can keep victims of domestic violence trapped in marriages, as they may feel as though they have no financial means to escape their marriage. Financial abuse is an incredibly serious matter, and is treated as such in California court.

Consequences for Financial Abuse in Marriage

Spousal financial abuse that is accompanied by domestic violence can lead to a criminal charge. More information on domestic violence laws in California can be found here. However, spousal financial abuse that does not involve physical violence will be approached on a case to case basis.

Criminal Threats

If a spouse’s financial abuse occurs along with threats to the physical safety of their spouse or anyone close to their spouse, that qualifies as a criminal threat. According to California Penal Code Section 422, a person who willfully threatens to inflict bodily injury or death onto another person which causes the victim to fear for their personal safety or that of their immediate family, is committing a criminal threat. A criminal threat can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or a felony.

Intimidation

If a financially abusive spouse attempts to prevent their spouse from reporting or testifying about the financial abuse, that is considered witness intimidation. According to California Penal Code Section 136.1, the act of witness intimidation may include the following:

Knowingly and maliciously (with bad intent) coercing or attempting to coerce a witness into not testifying or attending a court proceeding
Knowingly and maliciously coercing or attempting to coerce a witness (or victim) into not reporting an incident to law enforcement.

Individuals who are found guilty of intimidation may be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, according to the rules in the aforementioned Penal Code.

Stalking

If the financially abusive spouse is using tactics such as harassing and stalking their spouse, they could be charged with Stalking. According to California Penal Code 646.9, an individual who “willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly” follows another individual in such a way that makes the victim fearful for their safety or that of their immediate family can be found guilty of stalking. Stalking can result in a misdemeanor or felony charge, according to the rules of the penal code.

Phone Calls

If the financially abusive spouse commits the abuse along with incessant phone calls, they could be charged with a misdemeanor. According to California Penal Code Section 653m, any individual who makes repeated telephone calls (outside of good faith calls or those within the scope of business) or one-time phone calls with the intent to annoy, harass, or intimidate an individual may be charged with a misdemeanor.

Obtaining a Restraining Order

According to California Family Code Section 6320, financial abuse qualifies as a form of domestic violence. As such, victims of spousal financial abuse can file for a domestic violence restraining order. California law has specific qualifications that must be met in order to file for spousal domestic abuse. The individuals in question must be married or registered domestic partners, legally divorced or separated, or parents of a shared child (or children). The terms of general domestic violence are more broad, as other closely related family members and partners are included. In order to ensure that one’s situation meets the qualifications to file for a domestic violence restraining order, an experienced family lawyer can help. A brief review of the qualifications to file can be found on this California court informational sheet.

The Process

The first step to file for a domestic violence restraining order is to fill out the necessary court forms such as this form for a temporary restraining order. The court forms for different requests related to domestic violence can be found here. There is no fee to file for a domestic violence restraining order in California.
The next step is to bring all of the necessary forms to the court clerk. A California judge will decide whether or not to grant the temporary restraining order and any other orders that the individual is petitioning for (for example, a change to previously established child custody and visitation rights).
The clerk will notify the individual when it is time to come back to the courthouse. At the courthouse, the individual can see if the judge signed the temporary restraining order. If the judge signed the temporary restraining order, there will also be a court hearing date on the form signifying when the restraining order expires. In order to obtain a permanent restraining order, that individual must attend the hearing. If an individual will require an interpreter for the hearing, or any accommodations for disabilities, they should inform the court clerk as soon as possible. Court interpreters and accommodations are free for domestic violence cases. More information on court interpreters can be found here, and information on accommodations for disabilities can be found here.
Once the court clerk has filed (made official) the temporary restraining order, the individual who obtained the order should keep a copy with them at all times. That is because if the individual being restrained violates the order, the petitioner can show a copy of the restraining order to the police. Violating a restraining order is a criminal offense.
The respondent (the individual against whom the restraining order is being filed) must also have a copy of the restraining order. Similar to a divorce, they must be “served” restraining order paperwork. The person delivering the order must be over 18, and uninvolved in the case. In domestic violence cases, law enforcement can serve the restraining order for free.
More in-depth information on obtaining a domestic violence restraining order can be found here.

Evidence of Spousal Financial Abuse

Providing evidence of spousal financial abuse can be difficult, as abusers may attempt to accuse the other spouse of being bad at handling money. However, there are certain pieces of evidence that should be submitted to any court proceeding involving the spouses, such as a criminal trial or a divorce proceeding involving the division of property or the allocation of spousal support. More information on submitting evidence in a California family law court can be found here.

Some examples of evidence that could be used to prove financial abuse include:

For cases involving deliberately concealed or omitted assets (which is a violation of spousal fiduciary duty), a forensic accountant can be called in to identify any inconsistencies in the abusive spouses’ asset disclosure, lifestyle (such as living beyond their reported means), or valuation of property.
Live witness testimony, either from the victim or from close family members, who have witnessed the financial abuse or the effect of the financial abuse on the victim.
Any documentation of correspondence between spouses that can show the victim being denied access to shared bank accounts or credit cards, or any other form of community property.

Every case of financial abuse is contextually different, and should be attended to by an experienced family lawyer.

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