by Paul M. Talbert

In my practice as a divorce attorney, I have found that money or financial stress is one of the most common causes of marital conflict and divorce. In some relationships, one partner has substantially greater family resources that may create anxiety or mistrust in the other spouse. Therapists and marriage counselors naturally must address these stressors when attempting to help couples resolve their conflict. But in the course of doing so, therapists must be aware that their advice can have serious legal and financial consequences if the marriage later ends.

On several occasions in my divorce practice, I have dealt with the following situation: A client comes to my office for a divorce consultation. In the course of discussing her finances, she explains that she inherited a large sum of money from her parent’s estate during the marriage. However, her husband—although professing no interest in “her family’s money”—felt that her segregation of those funds from their marital accounts revealed a lack of trust or commitment to the marriage.

During marriage counseling, they reach an agreement to put her inheritance money in a joint bank account. Two months later, the husband filed for divorce and steadfastly insisted that the jointly titled bank account with the wife’s inherited funds........

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