question

my partner has started a divorce with her ex.

they current have a joint account. she hasn't put money into the joint account (no job) but she has had benefits put in there, in the past.

her ex works and has paid money into the joint account and still does... and also withdraws money too.

my partner says she is entitled to half of the money in the account and wants to withdraw half the money.

is that correct? can she do that legally??

What about money that her ex had put into the account since they seperated... is she entitled for half of this still? or would it be better to wait for the divorce to be finallised before she gets half the money?

any help or comments would be good..

Ajax,

I seriously hesitated in responding to your post, as there is insufficient information to give you any meaningful advice.

You say your partner is about to divorce her husband.

How long since they split?
Who is living in their marital home?
Are there any children involved? How old are they?
Who is caring for them?
Is the appropriate level of maintenance being paid?
Who left who?

To the letter of the law, a joint account is just that. Joint. However, morally, there are a number of questions to be answered.

The correct way would be to agree things through mediation or by way of a Separation Agreement, because as soon as she touches a penny from the joint account without agreement, all hopes of an amicable divorce settlement will fly out of the window faster than road runner on speed.

Question is what does she hope to achieve? Amicable separation and divorce, go separate ways and have a new life, or acrimonious, drawn out through court costing £25K plus to be bitter for a very long time?

Her choice. Not an easy one to advise on the facts presented.

Mike