Legal Question in Family Law in California
mariage money issue
for years my girlfriend has been writing bills for her husband with his account signing his checks and he approves of it. Now they are head for divorce and he is threating to press charges againist her can he do this?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: mariage money issue
Doubtful, but it depends on the proof. If the facts are as you say, how is he going to prove she wasn't authorized to sign checks on his account?
He can make whatever police report he wants, but in my experience, the criminal authorities will regard this as a civil matter and leave it to the family court. In the family court, he can try to prove she wasn't authorized and seek return of the monies, but again, how's he going to prove this? If she wrote checks for years, how is he going to say he didn't know? Beyond that, what were the checks for, ordinary things? Unless she was doing something totally in her own self-interest and being secretive, I think the threat to prosecute is a hollow one.
Re: mariage money issue
It is doubtful that she can be prosecuted, although you may want to pose this question to a criminal law attorney.
Generally, the standard in criminal law is the highest standard of proof of "beyond a reasonable doubt." Realistically, how could he prove that she signed all those checks, over many years, without his permission--beyond a reasonable doubt? That is highly unlikely.