Do I need to leave the house today? Do I absolutely have to go to the grocery store or drugstore? Is it worth the risk to my health and the health of my family? Covid-19 has redefined our concept of what is essential, necessary, and urgent.
Like the general public, the courts now face the issue of recognizing what urgent means during a pandemic. What if your ex took thousands from the joint line of credit? Is that COVID urgent? The case of Thomas and Wohleber gives us some more insight about that.
On March 30, 2020, the wife asked the court for urgent financial relief. Her husband) removed over $775,000.00 from their joint line of credit. She wanted the money returned, the account subsequently frozen, and her husband prevented from taking further funds.
The Court considered that the husband had removed funds from the line of credit, and refused to return them, twice. The amount he took was 11 times her annual income. He could not justify these removals. He depleted the line of credit, depriving the wife of the funds she might need to support herself and their children, and leaving her with no way to pay off the debt if the bank recalled the loan.
The judge decided that this case was urgent enough to be heard during the Covid-19 pandemic because the husband’s actions placed the wife and their children in a dire financial situation.
After qualifying as a Covid-19 urgency, the motion was ready to be heard via teleconference. In the interim, the judge ordered the funds returned, the account frozen, and the husband prevented from removing/depleting any of his assets until this motion could be heard by the motions judge.
So, if you were wondering whether your ex can steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from you during to the coronavirus and get away with it, Thomas and Wohleber tells us, your ex should think again.
In these difficult days of Covid-19, the courts are looking for realistic solutions.
Aren’t we all?