financial infidelity

Signs Of Financial Infidelity in A Marriage

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Infidelity in a marital relationship can rear its ugly head in a number of ways. Financial infidelity involves the lack of transparency and communication regarding the critical issue of money. It can put you at a serious disadvantage in terms of long-term financial security if you are unaware or lax about your spouse’s financial infidelity.

There are several steps you can take to deter financial infidelity as long as you identify the signs early. You should speak with a trusted family law attorney to protect your best interests and understand your legal situation if you are worried that your marriage may be heading towards a divorce or involves significant financial irregularities from your spouse.

What is Financial Infidelity?

In a marriage, you and your partner need to be on the same page where finances are concerned. This is because one size doesn’t fit all types of relationships. In the typical sense, financial infidelity is a label used for describing lies, secrecy, and the overall lack of open and honest communication surrounding all matters related to money.

The outlook can be different depending on whether you are married or dating, have joint bank accounts or separate ones, and whether you have different views on finances. Betrayal of any type is hard to comprehend and can have devastating consequences. Financial cheating is the same thing. It can be difficult to navigate your partner’s financial infidelity. You may never completely recover from it.

In an ideal world, two people in a relationship will share the same desires, views, and goals when it comes to all things, including money. Stemming from this, this is not the reality for a lot of couples. While you and your partner don’t necessarily need to seek permission for purchasing the most mundane things or tell each other about every dollar spent, you should have a modicum of transparency in the relationship.

Couples usually discuss larger ticketed purchases with their significant others before swiping the credit card. Taking this into account, there are a lot of times when a spouse will make an impulse purchase without discussing it with the significant other. Moreover, financial infidelity doesn’t always involve spending a lot of money.

You may feel guilty about the smallest purchases. You may also have questions about what your partner is doing in terms of investments and savings.

You may want to sit down with a counselor if you feel these questions are placing a strain on your marriage. You should also consider working with a qualified divorce attorney if you are worried that financial indiscretion will affect your marriage from a legal point of view.

Signs of Financial Infidelity Among Married Couples in Alabama

Talking about your money woes and personal finances with your spouse can be uncomfortable at best. This is particularly true if you both have different long-term goals in mind. Having vastly differing incomes and debt can make things worse. Furthermore, it’s important that you look out for the important signs that turn ambiguous topics into financial infidelity.

Stars are not immune to financial infidelity as well. Super celebs like Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have suffered through the consequences of making big-ticket purchases without having a conversation first. In 2021, Reynolds paid for an entire soccer team without talking about it with Lively, who was pretty upset when she first heard about it. This is of course an exuberant example, but such snippets can happen to just about anyone.

These are a few red flags to look out for in your partner where money is concerned:

  • Shutting down: Your spouse doesn’t want to discuss anything related to money, finances, income, or debt.
  • Locked out: Your spouse has removed your access from the joint account. In extreme cases, spouses have been known to take away ATM and credit cards even for separately held accounts.
  • Secrecy: Your spouse hides new purchases, whether big or small. Or you come across separate bank accounts that you were not aware of earlier.
  • Paranoia: Your spouse or you are obsessed with checking emails, bank statements, and other correspondence from financial institutions.
  • Zero say: You no longer have a say in any financial decisions or purchases. Your spouse makes the decisions without asking your opinion or requiring your input.
  • Things don’t make sense: The income and spending habits of your partner don’t add up in a way that makes sense.

Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements Offer Safeguards Against Financial Infidelity

Ideally, you and your partner should have a prenuptial agreement before you get married. Based on this, if you are married, you can always get a post-nuptial agreement. These agreements allow you to have full financial disclosure with your partner. It provides a relationship with increased clarity regarding assets in the event of separation or divorce.

It’s vital that you get an experienced divorce attorney on your side who understands your unique financial concerns and recommends the right legal strategy or helps prepares a post-nuptial agreement to protect your financial interests.

Choose a Dedicated Family Law Attorney to Protect Your Rights

If you feel your spouse has not been completely transparent regarding bank accounts, debt, assets, and inheritance among other things, you should speak with a solid and knowledgeable family law attorney at Alsobrook Law Group. Schedule your free and confidential consultation with us today. Call 334-737-3718 or write to us online.