Can one prevent one’s spouse from making reckless expenditures?

Verified 19 August 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

If your husband or wife spends recklessly and you want to protect your family's wealth, you can take legal action if the expenses are patently unreasonable. You can also decide to divorce. We present you with the information you need to know.

Possible actions depend on your situation:

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

You want to stay married

The judge can intervene if your husband seriously fails in his duties and his actions jeopardize your family's interests.

Jeopardizing family interests

You can take legal action if your husband's expenses put your family's property at risk.

To consider certain expenses to be manifestly excessive, you should consider the following:

  • Family lifestyle
  • Usefulness of the expenditure concerned.

FYI  

Each of you 2 is free to receive and dispose of his earnings and wages, provided that to contribute to the costs of marriage. Each of you 2 can also spend money on a joint account, as long as you don't jeopardize your family's interests.

The judge can take urgent action if your spouse is in serious breach of his or her duties, for example in case of non-compliance with his or her duty of care).

It can intervene if your spouse engages excessively in consumer credit, at the risk of over-indebtedness.

The Jaf: titleContent may prohibit your spouse from making, without your consent, acts of disposition on the following items:

  • Its own property (furniture or real estate)
  • Your couple's property.

The judge can prohibit your spouse from emptying a bank account or selling real estate alone, especially in the following cases of addiction:

This prohibition must be time-limited.

The duration shall be fixed by the judge, but may not exceed 3 years (including possible extension).

Recourse to the courts

You must to refer the matter to the family court (Jaf) of the court of law from your common home.

Who shall I contact

The recourse to a lawyer is not mandatory.

Please note

If you are separated, the competent court is the court of residence of the spouse who spends recklessly.

To act quickly, you can use the proxy, which enables Jaf: titleContent of take urgent action.

To enter the Jaf: titleContent, you must send a letter to him.

You and your spouse must indicate the following:

  • Surname and first name
  • Date and place of birth
  • Address.

You must specify the reason for your request.

You must file your application with the registry office of the court of your couple's place of residence in one of the following ways:

  • On the spot
  • Mail RAR: titleContent.

Warning  

You have to prove the situation. You must attach copies of all supporting documents useful.

You can inquire at a place of access to the right.

Who shall I contact

You want a divorce

You can to seek divorce in court.

You must take a lawyer to the Family Court Judge.

Who shall I contact

The purpose of the orientation hearing is to guide the case and set a timeline.

You can ask the judge to take interim measures to protect family heritage, at this hearing.

The Jaf: titleContent may, for example, prohibit your spouse from making, without your consent, acts of disposition on your couple's property or on the family home.

The judge can also prohibit your spouse from emptying a bank account or selling real estate alone, especially in the following cases of addiction:

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

FAQ