Relationships

Abused woman discovers husband hid houses, cash-filled bank accounts

Jun 07, 2018

A gold coast woman is feeling on top of the world after finding out she owns 15 properties. Source: Getty

A visit to a lawyer following a marriage separation has secured the financial position of one Gold Coast mother whose husband had secretly been hiding thousands of dollars from his wife.

Living day by day on a budget throughout her marriage, the woman’s finances were – as far as she knew – limited, however, this all changed when the 63-year-old decided to end the relationship, which had taken a nasty turn to domestic violence.

Speaking to news.com.au, the woman explained the frugality she had faced and disbelief when she was told she and her husband owned 15 properties and a number of bank accounts filled with thousands of dollars – of which she had rights to.

“When I needed more money for something for the children or myself he would tell me that there was no more money and that me or the children would have to go without. He even said that we were struggling to afford basic living costs and extras were a ‘no-no’. I was told that I had to give up any luxuries and do everything I could to save money,” she told news.com.au.

While her situation had a happy ending, unfortunately some men are in full control of the funds and unbeknown to their wives racking up thousands of dollars of savings in separate accounts.

In fact, in the UK, a plethora of women are remaining in unhappy marriages because they are unaware of their financial state and the extent of money they could receive.

On the other hand, there is large sum of women who end their marriages only to find themselves in a difficult financial situation due to the lack of knowledge around managing funds.

This only leads to further problems for women, particularly those who are retired, and do not have a steady income, with shocking statistics from the UBS Global Wealth Management indicating 98 per cent of divorced women were regretful they weren’t more involved in managing wealth while married.

What’s more, more than 50 per cent of women run into financial surprises including outdated debts and wills when their marriages end. This information mirrors findings from a recent Australian Financial Attitudes and Behaviour Tracker that found 46 per cent of women find dealing with money stressful, while 26 per cent of men feel the same way.