This is a question that is very individual. If you suspect that your spouse will use the credit cards to run up unnecessary expenses and charges or clean out the bank accounts and hide money then you might be well advised to cancel the credit cards in joint names and have new credit cards issued in your name.

There are three things you can do with a bank account. One, you can take the money out of the account and put it in a new account. This is a drastic measure, may cause checks to bounce and certainly can escalate the hostility and distrust in a divorce proceeding. Two, you can take half the money and place it in a separate bank account. This is a relatively reasonable approach but also can elevate the distrust. Three, you can freeze the account requiring both parties' signatures for any transaction. This is the least offensive but it is also the most cumbersome, denying both parties use of the money.

When you make this determination you have to keep in mind, what we call, the "divorce psychosis" which sometimes accompanies the ending of a relationship.

Individuals who just a few weeks or months before would have expected the other party to die for them now are engaging in petty acts of mistrust and duplicity. Each party may be peppered with well intended but increasingly misguided advice from family and friends about how to "protect themselves".

As a normal rule, unless there is a definite threat and a very real possibility that you will be irreplaceably damaged, we advise people to act like your spouse is still your spouse. That means an honest person should be trusted. However, if your spouse has cheated the government, cheated other people, cheated you in the past, and/or has shown that they have very little sense of honor, then you should do what is necessary to protect yourself. But remember, this is a very individual question which needs to be discussed with your attorney. This type of advice is definitely not one size fits all.