From the incessantly advertised fantasy football websites to online gaming and poker sites, to the lottery, to Indian casinos, and to Las Vegas, providing people with the opportunities to gamble is as widespread throughout society as they have ever been. Many, if not most, people can participate in gambling on a recreational basis. However, there are some people that just don’t know when to fold, when to give up, when to put their wallets away. Before they know it, they are not just gambling away their money but gambling away their own family’s financial well-being. Some will gamble just their paycheck, which is bad enough. Others are willing to dig deeper to “win bigger”, including family fortunes. children’s trust funds and savings accounts. When it comes to Family Law, gambling can carry serious consequences that can greatly affect all the parties involved.

• Spouse Has Gambling Problem Solving
• My Husband Has Gambling Problem

When parties get a divorce, and gambling was a marital issue (shockingly, usually for the detriment), the non-gambling spouse will usually communicate to the court that the gambling spouse gambled away community property funds and that she now is part of this debt that can be attributed solely to gambling. Believe it or not, the non-gambling spouse usually does not want to have to pay the gambling spouse’s debts. As a matter of course, all assets and debts that are incurred during the marriage are community property. This is the rule per the Family Code, however, that doesn’t mean that there are not exceptions.

1. The following signs may indicate your spouse has a gambling problem: Increasing preoccupation with gambling that consumes excessive time and money Feeling the need to try to recap losses instead of calling it quits Gambling that has a negative effect on mood, behavior, relationships, and financial stability.
2. Long-term effects of gambling addiction. Large debts from a gambling problem can have a lasting effect on your finances. Maxing out lines of credit, missing payment deadlines and constantly opening new accounts can harm your credit score – which is a key factor in determining loan approval, mortgage terms, interest rates and more.

. “The wife’s gambling addiction has strained the family finances to the point where the bills can no longer be paid. Instead of facing the real issue, the husband arranges to skip a mortgage payment and opens yet another line of credit.”.

Under Family Code §2625, one particular exception can be found. This exception to the general rule states that:

“All separate debts, including those debts incurred by a spouse during marriage and before the date of separation that were not incurred for the benefit of the community, shall be confirmed without offset to the spouse who incurred the debt.”

This exception to the general rule is a notable one, because California is a no-fault state. It usually does not matter what a spouse did or did not do. The judge will not take into account the specific facts on what got the parties there or, more importantly to many clients, “why” they are where they are. You’re there. That’s all that matters to the California Courts. However, with the above exception, the Family Code provides the Court with the power to assign the gambling debts of the community solely to the gambling spouse. Thus, the court would be making a division of the marital assets and debts based on fault, and not equality.

FIDUCIARY DUTY OF SPOUSES

The Family Code is forged in what courts believe to be sound public policy. There is probably no other area of law that is more sensitive to the law and public policy, and, specifically, wanting the most equitable result for all the parties involved. The relationship between the law and society’s interest is a reflection of the role that spouses have in their significant other lives and the integral interest society has in those roles. This interest is a direct reflection on how family law is developed. There is no better demonstration of this then the fact that family law orders can preempt even criminal orders in the court of law.

Because of this, the courts do no not mess around when it comes to the obligations and mutual respect of two people that are married. This inherent governance of morality is expressly stated in Family Code§721(b):

“This confidential relationship imposes a duty of the highest good faith and fair dealing on each spouse, and neither shall take any unfair advantage of the other.”

A spouse that tries and take advantage of the other spouse financially in any way, whether it is misappropriating community funds or the nondisclosure of assets, usually find out that was a very big mistake. These actions are contrary to the very foundations of family law.

FELDMAN

As elaborated above, courts do not take kindly to dishonesty, especially to your spouse.

Being consistent with the policy, the courts passed a bill that is now Family Code § 2100. This section states:

“(a) It is the policy of the State of California (1) to marshal preserve, and protect the community and quasi-community assets and liabilities that exist at the date of separation so as to avoid dissipation of the community estate before distribution, (2) to ensure fair and sufficient child and spousal support awards, and (3) to achieve a division of community and quasi-community assets and liabilities on the dissolution or nullity of marriage or legal separation of the parties as provided under California law.

(b) Sound public policy further favors the reduction of the adversarial nature of marital dissolution and the attendant costs by fostering full disclosure and cooperative discovery.

(c) In order to promote this public policy, a full and accurate disclosure of all assets and liabilities in which one or both parties have or may have an interest must be made in the early stages of a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal separation of the parties, regardless of the characterization as community or separate, together with a disclosure of all income and expenses of the parties. Moreover, each party has a continuing duty to immediately, fully, and accurately update and augment that disclosure to the extent there have been any material changes so that at the time the parties enter into an agreement for the resolution of any of these issues, or at the time of trial on these issues, each party will have a full and complete knowledge of the relevant underlying facts.”

In summary, public policy favors non-adversarial marital dissolutions, for the parties to cooperate as much as possible, and to immediately and accurately disclose all information. As such, the nondisclosure of assets certainly qualifies as dishonesty, which can carry severe penalties. Just ask Aaron Feldman. He found out the consequences of his non-disclosure and breach of fiduciary duty to his wife in his dissolution action. (See Marriage of FELDMAN [(2007) 153 Cal.App.4^th 1470]).

Traditionally, before Family Code§ 2100, a spouse that did not have access to the material and financial items during the marriage had the right to inquire about all the material assets that that was they knew about, and the knowledgeable spouse had to disclose the information that was requested. This would put the spouse with all the financial access at a very advantageous position. It was very easy to disclose only what they wanted, and the less-knowledgeable spouse would be at their mercy.

In Feldman, the husband Aaron did not disclose many assets, including real estate, businesses, and other financial transactions. His spouse, Elena, through further diligent discovery learned of all these nondisclosures. It was clear Aaron willfully showed a pattern of non-compliance. Elena then filed an application for an order for imposition of monetary sanctions for his willful breach of fiduciary duty, and a to pay her attorney’s fees. And we know what family courts think of the fiduciary duty between spouses.

The trial court granted these motions and on appeal, the Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s granting of these. Elena was awarded $250,000 in sanctions against Aaron for the breach of his fiduciary duty and an additional $140,000 in attorney’s fees. All told, Aaron had to shell out $390,000 to Elena for his lack of good faith and fair dealing.

The interesting fact here in Feldman was that these sanctions were not ordered under the Code of Civil Procedure, but under Family Code§271(a), which is the part of the Family Code that deals with breaches of fiduciary duty.

Going back to the beginning, Family Code§271(a), as made clear in Feldman, will be used against the breaching party when their conduct frustrates the purpose of public policy. By incorporating Feldman, family courts are again resting on their bedrock principles of equity, which also goes back to the important role in the Court’s eyes that a family plays in society.

The moral of the story is to be truthful regarding finances to your spouse (before and after filing for dissolution), as well as the courts. The penalty for this can extreme.

If you talk about gambling addiction, I would say it is one of the worst problems in the entire world. It’s a kind of problem that can eat away your entire savings and can force you to beg from others as well. Gambling addiction, which is also called gambling disorder or compulsive gambling is nothing but a kind of addition wherein a gambler has no control over his gambling-related activities.

It is a type of problem which can best be described as an impulse-control disorder, wherein the gamblers find it extremely impossible to stop the impulse to gamble irrespective of how it affects them and their relationships with their loved ones.

If you are someone who is married and you are a gambling addict, just remember one thing that this addiction of yours can ruin your relationship with your spouse completely, wherein in the worst case scenario you may end up getting a divorce from your partner. And I am sure, as a person, you would never like the idea of separating from your partner, just because of your gambling addiction.

What Sort Of Problems Do You face When Your Spouse Is A Gambling Addict?

Now let’s talk about those people, whose spouses are the gambling addict and how they feel when they have to stay with such people. No loving and caring partner would ever like the idea of his or her partner being a gambling addict, it is just so difficult for them to tolerate the thought that they cannot stop their partner from gambling.

As a gambling addict, your spouse may start betting on everything possible such as sports, casino slots, poker, and scratch cards etc., and no matter what you do he/she won’t listen to you which eventually results in spoiling your relationships with your spouse. Your spouse’s gambling addiction not only have a highly negative effect on your relationship with him, but it can also affect his/her work and can create financial problems for the entire family. For an example, if you have school going kids, you may find it difficult to fulfill their requirements as your partner is already spending huge sums in gambling. On the other hand, if you and your partner put an equal amount of money in running the house, it will definitely affect that as well.

If you talk about the kind of behavior your spouse can indulge into as far as his/her money related requirements are concerned, he/she may end up stealing the money when it comes to betting and paying debts, if you do not provide him/her the same. On top of that, your partner may also start begging money from his family members, friends, and colleagues etc., which can prove to be really embracing for you. When your extended family members and friends start talking about your partner’s gambling addiction you feel so insulted and irritated but you cannot say anything to them as you know it very well that your spouse is at fault.

And on top of that, if you tell your spouse to stop begging money from others, you may end up indulging in fights with him/her, which can spoil your mood to a great extent and that can affect your work too.

For an example, if you are in a leadership position, you may end up shouting at your juniors in your office even on small things, just because you are in a bad mood, as you had a fight with your partner in the morning. This can lead to spoiling your relationships with your colleagues and that too because of your partner’s gambling addiction.

What Are The Most Common Signs And Symptoms Of An Gambling Addict?

There is no denying the fact that a gambler hardly shows any physicalsigns and symptoms of gambling addiction, probably that’s the reason this problem is sometimes known as hidden illness. In other words, it is true that when compared to drug addiction and alcohol addiction, a person suffering from gambling addiction shows no physical signs and symptoms.

But if your spouse is a gambling addict, you can figure out that if he/she behaves in the following manner-

• Whenever you realize that your spouse is hiding something about gambling from you, it means he/she is getting addicted to it, and that’s the reason he/she doesn’t want you to know about it.
• If your spouse is facing problem in stopping his gambling habit, it means he/she is now addicted to it.
• If your spouse keeps on betting, even after knowing that he/she has already lost a lot of money, he/she is a hardcore gambling addict now.
• If your spouse steals money from you or begs it from his close friends and family members, it means he/she is suffering from gambling addiction

Even if the entire family including you beg your spouse to stop gambling but he/she doesn’t listen, that simply indicate that he/she has turned a serious gambling addict.

So how can you deal with a gambling addict?

Though it looks like you cannot do anything to stop all this, but provided the fact that you become a little more strong in handling your spouse, you can eventually bring a lot of changes as far as your spouse’s gambling addiction is concerned.

Stop Enabling Your Spouse’s Gambling Addiction

As far as gambling addiction is concerned, “enabling” is a term that is referred to a person’s action of allowing a gambler to go ahead with his/her addiction. In other words, as a partner, any action of yours that encourages your partner to pursue gambling can refer to “enabling.”

It could be an action which is carried out by you unconsciously but that may help your spouse to encourage his/her addictive behavior.

Enablement can be divided into three crucial activities which include:

• Covering up
• An Attempt to control your spouse’s behavior
• And providing full cooperation to him/her

In short, if you want your spouse to recover from this addiction, you need to stop enabling his/her gambling addiction, wherein you should not be covering up his/her problems.

For an example, if your spouse is asking money from you or other family members for gambling or in order to deal with the debts, you should not be supporting him/she in this case. Instead of that, you should be criticizing your spouse for this weird behavior.

This may stop your spouse from doing the same thing again, thus forcing him/her to put a check on his/her activities.

Take Control Of Your Finances

As a family member, you can always make an effort to take charge of your finances, thus leaving your partner with a lesser chance to spend money on gambling. This can be done by hiding all your credit cards and debit cards from your partner, who can otherwise end up spending money in gambling from them.

Take The Assistance Of A Counselor

If you are tired of handling everything alone, you always have an opportunity to take the support of a counselor likeMandy Saligari, who can guide you on how to go ahead with controlling your spouse’s behavior effectively. You can go for therapies when it comes to keeping yourself in a good mood so that you can easily proceed with your initiative.

Carry Out Counselling Sessions For Your Partner

Spouse Has Gambling Problem Solving

As a partner, you should always try to talk to your spouse about the negative consequences of gambling. Maybe if you talk to your partner about the kind of problems that can be faced by him/her later on, he/she may realize it easily, and then end up leaving all this for the betterment of the entire family.

About the Author:

My Husband Has Gambling Problem

Ruby is quite an experienced writer, who writes largely about the issues related to drug abuse, alcohol abuse, gambling addiction and eating disorders etc. As far as her contribution in the field of gambling addiction is concerned, till date she has written numerous blogs and articles on it, which published in leading journals and websites. Visit Charter Harley Street to learn more