My ex emptied our joint account: how do I get the money back?

You open the banking app, and the balance shows zero. Yesterday, years of savings were still there. Your ex has moved everything to an account in their own name. An emptied joint account does not wipe out your rights: the money is not theirs for all that. A lawyer reviews your situation in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

This article explains what to do right away, then how to recover your share depending on your situation: marriage, civil partnership (PACS) or unmarried couple.

Emptied joint account: first steps

Facing an emptied joint account, act fast, but do not retaliate in kind. Emptying another account yourself would weaken your case.

• Take screenshots of statements and history: date, amount, account the transfer went to.
• Ask the bank to end joint liability (désolidarisation) in writing, ideally by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. Check the procedure in your account agreement.
• Open an account in your sole name and have your salary or benefits paid into it.
• Revoke any powers of attorney given on your accounts, in writing to the bank.
• Change your online banking codes if your ex knows them.
• List the direct debits that went through the joint account (rent, loan, energy) to avoid rejections.

According to the French Banking Federation's guide of November 2023, a separation, a divorce or the end of a PACS changes nothing automatically on your accounts. Even a court judgment shown to the bank does not change how the joint account works. Only your request does.

What ending joint liability changes

After your request, the joint account becomes an undivided account. It then works only with both your signatures: no withdrawal, transfer or payment by one of you alone. Cards and chequebooks linked to the account go back to the bank, which informs the other holder.

This protects the future, not the past. It does not cancel the transfer already made. It does, however, freeze what remains and ends your joint liability for later transactions.

Until the bank receives your request, you remain liable with your ex for transactions they made alone: overdraft, card payments, cheques not yet cashed. Our article on a couple's debts after separation covers this.

Did they have the right to empty the account?

When your ex emptied the joint account, the bank usually did nothing wrong. A joint account rests on active solidarity: each holder can withdraw all the funds, and a bank that pays one of them is discharged towards all (article 1311 of the Civil Code).

Between the two of you, the answer is different. The same article says the holder who was paid "must account for it to the others". The right to withdraw is not the right to keep. An emptied joint account therefore calls for a settling of accounts between you, then, if needed, court action.

Your rights depend on your situation

Situation	Who owns the money in the account	Text
Married without a contract (community)	Both spouses in principle, except one spouse's own funds	Art. 1421, 1433 and 1477 Civil Code
Married with separate property	The one who proves they paid it in; otherwise half each	Art. 1538
PACS partners	The one who proves they paid it in; otherwise half each	Art. 515-5
Unmarried couple	The one who proves they paid it in, based on each person's deposits	General rules, art. 1303

What they share: everything must be proven. Gather the statements showing who funded the account, inheritances and gifts received, and salary transfers.

Emptied joint account between spouses: remedies

Urgently, the family judge. If your spouse seriously fails in their duties and endangers the family's interests, the family judge (juge aux affaires familiales) can order urgent measures (article 220-1 of the Civil Code). The judge can, for instance, bar them from disposing of joint or personal property alone, for up to three years.

During the divorce, interim measures. The judge can grant one spouse an advance on their share of the division, set spousal maintenance and decide who pays the debts in the meantime (article 255 of the Civil Code).

At the division, the final account. Each spouse can manage joint property alone, but answers for mismanagement (article 1421 of the Civil Code). Diverted money goes into the accounts of the division. If the community benefited from one spouse's own funds, it owes that spouse compensation (article 1433).

Concealing community property. A spouse who diverts or hides joint property loses their share in it (article 1477 of the Civil Code). An emptied joint account that is then hidden can cost the person who emptied it dearly.

One date matters: in a contested divorce, the judgment takes effect between spouses, for their property, on the date of the divorce petition (article 262-1 of the Civil Code). At one spouse's request, the judge can set it at the date they stopped living together. A withdrawal after that date is treated as taking from undivided property. Our guide to divorce by mutual consent explains how to settle these accounts amicably.

PACS partners and unmarried couples: remedies

An emptied joint account between partners or cohabitants goes before the same judge. The family judge also rules on the liquidation and division of property interests of PACS partners and unmarried couples. You can apply to claim your share of the money taken.

• PACS partners: funds that neither can prove are exclusively theirs belong to both, half each (article 515-5 of the Civil Code). The one who took everything must return the other's share.
• Unmarried couples: the law sets no presumption. You prove your deposits, and the judge restores the balance, if needed on the basis of unjust enrichment (article 1303 of the Civil Code).

If you fear your ex will spend or hide the money, a lawyer can ask the judge to authorise a protective attachment (saisie conservatoire) on their accounts. It requires a claim that seems well founded and a risk to its recovery.

Should I file a criminal complaint?

Generally, a complaint does not solve an emptied joint account. A holder who withdraws funds from a joint account uses a right the bank recognises. Between spouses, the Criminal Code also rules out prosecution for theft and breach of trust, unless they are legally separated or authorised to live apart (articles 311-12 and 314-4 of the Criminal Code).

This immunity has limits. It does not cover theft of means of payment or identity documents. If your ex took your card, forged your signature or used your codes on an account in your sole name, talk to a lawyer: a complaint may then be justified.

When money is used to control

Emptying an account can be part of economic abuse: depriving you of resources to stop you leaving. In that case, you are not alone.

• 3919 offers free, anonymous support to victims of violence, 24 hours a day.
• 17 or 112 in immediate danger.
• A protection order, issued by the family judge, can organise the separation and contributions to expenses. Our article on an ex's harassment and protection orders explains it.

If your ex also refuses to leave the home, read our article on an ex who refuses to leave. Other situations are covered in our article on an ex who wants you back.

Free help

An emptied joint account often leaves the budget flat. Several services help at no cost:

• Points conseil budget offer free support to households in difficulty.
• The CAF (family benefits office) can review your entitlements after the separation.
• Point-justice offices offer a free first legal consultation. Call 30 39 to find the nearest one.
• Legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) covers lawyer's fees. In 2026, it is full for a single person whose reference tax income does not exceed €12,957, then partial up to €19,433.

How a lawyer helps

A lawyer reconstructs the account movements, works out your share and writes to your ex. Without agreement, they apply to the family judge, seek urgent measures or a protective attachment, and defend your interests at the division.

A lawyer cannot promise you will recover everything: the outcome depends on the evidence and on your ex's ability to pay. But they save you time and mistakes. For an emptied joint account, a family lawyer answers within 20 minutes.

France's National Consumer Institute sums up the banking steps in its page Vous vous séparez : que faire avec vos comptes bancaires ? (in French).