As with all other states, Pennsylvania allows you to file for divorce for any reason. Therefore, if you discover that your spouse has engaged in financial infidelity, you can move to end the marriage with or without your spouse’s permission. Although money issues can put stress on a marriage regardless of how old you are, it tends to be among the most common reasons for divorce involving older couples.
Financial infidelity explained
Financial infidelity is a term that covers a variety of actions that are taken in a deceptive or unilateral fashion. For instance, your spouse may have neglected to tell you about tens of thousands of dollars in gambling losses or the credit card that was taken out in your name to buy expensive jewelry. Your spouse may also commit financial infidelity in the process of committing actual infidelity, like having a secret bank account used to pay for trips with another person or to support a child that you don’t know about prior to starting divorce proceedings.
The potential fallout
If your spouse has used household savings to gamble at the casino, it may mean that there is no financial cushion to rely on in retirement. If your spouse has taken loans from a retirement account to subsidize a secret lifestyle, you may be faced with a large tax bill in addition to financial insecurity in your old age.
Your mental health may suffer
Finding out that you don’t have any money in the bank may cause you to experience negative emotions such as fear, anger or anxiety. You may also fall into a depression knowing that you may never be able to retire or that a person you may have loved for years was simply using you for financial gain.