What rights does she have?

Question

My friend and her boyfriend of three years just broke up. She stayed with me for less than a week to kind of get away and have time to herself...she got back to her apartment and she told him they needed to talk about what he could and couldn't have. They had a joint back account which she's currently talking to the bank to get them to take his name off of it.

#1. He took both flat screen monitors she bought

#2. Took all of her playstation 2 games

#3. Took 280 dollars out of her account for her automatic bills, she couldn't get them stopped in time so she had to wait.

#4. He took her dvd players she paid for. (Over 300 dollars worth)

He was unemployed...he took that money even though they had a joint, it was technically her money...

Does she have any right since he left and took stuff while she was at work?

Answer 1

LOL - Lex you must have been watching Judge Judy last night along with me because that was the point that I was going to make. Unfortunately there is not a whole lot she can do in this situation because they were living together as a couple - but nothing was legally binding. If she wants that stuff back she could try her luck in small claims court, but there is no guarantee that she will get it back. I am assuming that she has tried to talk with him, but my guess is that unless she gets it back right away he is going to sell it because he will most likely need the money. It's really unfortunate, but that is why you just have to be so careful. My husband and I didn't open up a joint account until 2 weeks before we got married.

I don't think that they can remove his name from the account. I think the only thing that she can do is close the account, which I highly recommend, and open up a new one in just her name.

I'm sorry to hear that your friend has had such a hard time with her boyfriend. Hopefully there was a good lesson learned about protecting herself in the future.  

Answer 2

As Judge Judy says, there are no courts for almost marrieds. The sad fact is that she may feel that she's morally right but she needs to cut her losses. The chances of her recovering any of these things are slim. Instead of spending time in court for such paltry sums she needs to cut all ties and cut them quick and move on.

Answer 3

The bank account was in both names so he was legally entitled to withdraw the money. To get his name off of it, she needs to close the account and open a new one. Banks will not remove a name. As far as the other property, if she can prove it was hers, she can file a report of theft.