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It’s never an easy decision when one spouse chooses to end his or her marriage rather than a joint resolution. This can be especially true in cases involving marital misconduct like infidelity or abuse. Sometimes, the other spouse will seek to retaliate once served with the divorce papers.
Tampering with marital property and assets are common ways that some spiteful spouses attempt to lash out and vent their anger towards the opposing party. Sometimes, they might destroy valuable items or hide assets. In other cases, an angry spouse could sell off or transfer ownership of jointly held property in a fit of resentment.
If you are an Arizona resident currently contemplating a nasty divorce, you need to know about Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders. Unlike a physical restraining order, ATROs are designed to only protect spouses from the unauthorized tampering with financial items. They are court orders that prevent a future ex-spouse from committing certain indiscretions with regards to the marital estate.
Frequent readers of our online blog may recall a previous article we wrote about ATROs. In that article, we talked about how some angry spouses will even go so far as to change bank accounts in an effort to conceal money during divorce from their other spouses. Those jilted spouses may even attempt to remove the other spouses as a listed beneficiary in their retirement or life insurance plans.
Our law firm helps people going through divorce to obtain ATROs, as well as those who need to defend against them. With more than 30 years of combined legal experience, our firm represents clients in family law matters in Phoenix and throughout Maricopa County. Prospective clients should know that many decisions in their divorces may be adversely affected by an improper accounting of their marital estate. Depending on the types of tampering or concealment, those individuals might experience adverse outcomes with regards to their spousal support or the division of their marital property and assets.
