When you get married, you combine your finances and household with your spouse. When you do, you accept some risk for your spouse’s behavior. Most people enter into marriage in good faith and assume that their spouse will make decisions that benefit the entire family.

Unfortunately, some people misuse marital income or shared assets, especially toward the end of a marriage. Some people use joint finances as a way to control or abuse a spouse who files for divorce. In extreme cases, excessive spending or the destruction of marital assets could impact how the courts divide your property in a divorce.

Can you show that your spouse tried to reduce the value of marital assets?

Whether or not your spouse’s behavior will impact your divorce proceedings depends on whether or not the court believed that their actions constitute the dissipation of marital assets. Dissipation is wasteful spending specifically in a way that only benefits one spouse or the use of marital assets in a way that undermines the best interests of the family unit.

Dissipation can take multiple forms. It might look like spending money on items that will only benefit one person in the family, like luxury items. It could also involve spending money on an extramarital affair. People giving away property or intentionally damaging their homes to diminish the perceived value of marital assets can also constitute dissipation.

If you can show that your spouse was intentionally wasteful or destructive in their financial habits, the Kentucky family courts may agree to adjust the property division in your high-asset divorce accordingly. Carefully reviewing your financial records can help you decide if you might have a viable claim of dissipation.