Chapter 16 - THE SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS
The joint-account mistake came back at the temporary financial hearing.
Berenger’s lawyer displayed the transfer.
$112,000.
Hours after the assault.
“Were you trying to deprive Berenger of marital funds?”
“I was trying to make sure I could access money.”
“Why transfer almost all of it?”
“Fear.”
“Did your lawyer tell you not to?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
No clever answer.
Then:
“Did you know mortgage and taxes were paid from that account?”
“Yes.”
“Did you leave enough?”
“Not enough.”
There.
My mistake.
Then Berenger’s own conduct.
He had frozen my card.
Restricted household transfer.
Moved $22,000 two weeks earlier into Wynn Executive Holdings for “personal investment reserve.”
Was that marital?
Disputed.
He said normal investment.
Maybe.
Court ordered:
$70,000 I moved remained in neutral escrow.
$20,000 from Berenger’s recent transfer also moved to escrow pending classification.
Both sides received monthly living budgets from available marital funds.
No one got to weaponize the account.
Then the judge said something I remembered:
“Fear may explain unilateral financial action. It does not automatically validate it.”
Exactly.
I left court angry.
Then relieved.
Because the same principle applied to Berenger.
Fear of dependency did not validate controlling me.
Leandra’s fear did not validate blocking the gate.
May you like
Dad’s fear did not validate the slap.
No one got a private exemption.
