My partner has cut me off from our money. What can I do?

During the stressful time of the relationship break-up the party with control of the finances may simply refuse to pay the other party any more money or take away their use of the joint credit card.

This can leave one party with no money to pay their legal fees or even their living expenses.

In this situation, a vast majority of solicitors would advise the party who has cut the other party off that they should, indeed they have an obligation to, pay them some money. This is not always well received and sometimes the other party refuses the money because they think it’s not enough.

If your partner has cut you off financially then you may need to go to court. Maintenance pending suit applications (when the matter goes to court) must be made after the main proceedings have already been issued. Maintenance pending suit applications are mainly used in the context of divorce proceedings but can sometimes be used in other cases. An order can be made by the court that the paying party must pay the other’s legal fees or must pay the other party an amount of money per month.

The standard of living enjoyed during the marriage as well as both parties’ resources and their needs and obligations will be taken into account by the court when making a decision.

If you are in this situation then it is important to get independent legal advice as soon as possible.