Dear Mrs Macaulay, The day after I mentioned that I wanted a divorce, my husband transferred every dollar from our joint savings account into an account I can’t access. He says it’s his money because he earned more during the marriage, and he put it in an escrow account so we can divide it in the way the judge in the divorce case decides. To make things worse, he has started dividing things up in the house, putting away what he wants, and even started selling some of our items on Facebook. I even saw where he listed our house for sale. What should I do immediately? I need access to the funds, and fear that if I say anything, he may snap and do something violent.

The very first thing which you must do is to get yourself an attorney-at-law who has a divorce and family properties practice.  You must get this lawyer to act as quickly as possible, as your husband is treating your statement that you wanted a divorce as the start of a race between you, and he has gone some distance to try to defeat your interest in your family properties both real (the property) and personal (the things he is taking and keeping and those he is selling also).

The Property (Rights of Spouses) Act 2004 protects women (and men) in your position.  You must therefore hasten to use the laws which exist for your protection and the protection of your interests in the properties.  You cannot do it by yourself; you need the skills and experiences of a lawyer who works in these areas of the law to prepare and file the necessary applications on your behalf, in order to obtain your one-half shares in all properties .

“Property” is defined in the Act as meaning “any real or personal property, any estate or interest in real or personal property, any money, any negotiable instrument, debt or other chose in action, or any other right or interest whether in possession or not to which the spouses or either of them is entitled”.

Remember that “the family home” is defined in the Act simply as the dwelling house that is wholly owned by either or both spouses and used habitually or from time to time by them as the only or principal dwelling house.    So you see, the definition says “owned by either or both of you”,  so that property for division between spouses covers everything – all that your husband is grabbing up for himself or selling and keeping the proceeds.

Your husband’s statement after he transferred all the money out of your joint account, that the money is his because he earned more during your marriage, is nonsense and contrary to our existing law. Firstly, it was a joint account and so you were joint owners of its contents.  Remember, the definition of “property” includes money which “the spouses or either of them is entitled”.

The legal definitions do not exclude the basis that he put more into the account than you.  I do hope that you have a record or note of how much was in the account before he transferred it to an escrow account in his sole name, and if any interests were lost because of his action, your application that he pay such loss back, should be included in your claim.

You must have your lawyer act immediately on this account and about his putting the family home up for sale and his actions of removing contents from your home and securing them for his sole use or his selling them and pocketing the proceeds of sale.  The provisions of the Act can be used to counter his actions which clearly demonstrate your husband’s intent to attempt to defeat your interests in the family home and your jointly owned contents of the home and the proceeds of your erstwhile joint bank account.

Your lawyer can apply to the court to first stop any further actions of his in acting without your consent from the day you told him of your intent to divorce him.  Your statement made it clear that you had separated and there is no likelihood of a reconciliation.  This application must be filed within 12 months of the date you told him of your intent to divorce him, though this can be applied to be extended by the court.

The court upon such an application can make orders to secure your interest, even if he has sold items. And if such sales cannot be overturned, it would order that your husband  pays over your share to you.

It is necessary for your attorney-at-law to stop his attempts to list your family home for sale and to ask for the court to order all the necessary legal and prudent steps to be taken, for a proper valuation to be done of the premises by a valuator agreed by you both, or if you two cannot agree on one, then order that the registrar of the court chooses and appoints one to do the valuation at which price the home can be sold, with you or him having the choice to purchase the other’s share which the court would specify upon your application for such a declaration to be done.

From what you said about your husband bringing home more than you, it is clear that you were also working out of the home and earning your salary and then you did the domestic chores in your family home and for the family, even if only for you and him. These are factors which the judge can take into account in considering, whether a share other than the 50/50  division ought to apply in relation to the court ordered division between you.  Remember that your joint bank account was already clear as to its division being a clear 50/50 between you in law.

Pursuant to section 21 of the Act, the court can restrain him from taking any further action to list and sell the family home or taking  or disposing of any of the contents; or if sold, it can order that all proceeds he has received from any sale be paid into the court and paid out only when and as it orders to be done.

Then pursuant to section 22, the court can actually set aside any sale he has done or the transfer of the funds from the joint account when it is satisfied that your husband has so acted in order to defeat you rights or your claim  for you rightful share of the properties.  The court has very wide powers  to make any further orders it thinks necessary to protect and secure your interests.

So please make lists of everything he has taken so far and what contents are still left in the home.  Leave nothing out. Find and instruct an attorney-at-Law as quickly as you can and let them prepare and file your claims as quickly as possible so your husband’s grabbing and selling of items from your home is stopped and those that can be set aside are done, and that the sale of your home be dealt with as per the legal steps for such circumstances, and after your shares are agreed or ordered by the court, and  the process of the sale and securing and division of the proceeds are as agreed by you both or as ordered by the court.

I hope you understand that there are laws which exist to ensure that you obtain you due entitlement, and that you now have a clear understanding of what the law is and what you should do.

Please act quickly and get your lawyer who should move as quickly as possible to stop any further disposals by your husband.

I wish you all the very best and all success.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public, and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com. All responses are published. Mrs Macaulay cannot provide personal responses.