My spouse and I are divorcing (TN), we are residing in the marital
home until the divorce is finalized. She has taken my W2 forms and is
keeping them away from me.
Can this be addressed legally? She denies haven taken them, but there
is no one else who could have, or would have. This is not unlike what
she has done in the past. But I consider taking a person's legal
documentation theft, nothing less. I informed my divorce attorney and
we plan to meet regarding this. Any information or suggestions that
you might have to offer before I meet with him would be helpful. I
think that she has gone too far, and there is no hope of getting the
truth from her.

Hi Tom TGS -

I am sorry for your troubles, and divorce can get nasty when all those
feelings get mixed up in splitting up a household.

I am not licensed to practice law, but is it worth it to accuse your
wife of theft, especially if you don't have any proof? It will mostly
add fuel to an already volatile situation and achieve nothing.

As for the missing W-2 forms, get copies form your employers, they
have to hang on to them for a long time, long enough for you to ask
for copies and have them in time for filing your tax returns.

This will probably help financially, too, as you can save the lawyer
issue for the bigger issues, don't you think?

Good luck, and hang in there,
Serenata

Dear tomtgs-ga:

Being already somewhat familiar with your plight from having answered
a previous question, I apologize for being a bit more apprehensive
about this one. I'd like nothing more than to provide you the service
you ask for but the best service I can provide at the moment is to let
you keep your money and offer you this:

If any crime has been committed at all, the actions on the part of
your wife "could" constitute a form of harassment, but even this would
be pushing it because it cannot be proven. A criminal court may see
your situation as just two barely married people who obviously have
huge differences and who are picking their battles out of each and
every trivial opportunity that comes along - grasping at straws to
discredit one another. While thi smay not be true, in a divorce court
this is sometimes referred to "mental anquish" and in many states is,
in itself, grounds for divorce.

This time, an attorney licensed to practice law in TN is your best
bet. Your situation, as we have discussed previously, is not only
complicated, but it is compounded by the fact that some states have
what is called a "Common Property Law" (A law that basically says,
"what's mine is your's, and what's your's is mine"? - mine is also one
of these states). If your state observes this legal right to the
property of a spouse, then it is "possible" that she may do whatever
she wishes with "HER" property.

On the other hand, the two of you have already filed for divorce, and
as I mentioned in our earlier discussion, divorce in itself often
imposes certain legal restrictions on the divorcing parties' behavior,
particularly if the sole purpose of that behavior is to
disenfranchise, or otherwise cause undue angst, discomfort, injury or
annoyance upon the the other party. If this has been established in
your divorce proceeding (or filing) then she COULD BE in contempt of
court, PROVIDED that you can convince a judge that she has actually
done what you allege that the has done.

I recommend you pose this question to your lawyer. Let us know how it
turns out.

I wish you luck;
tutuzdad-ga

Whatever you do, try to minimise the use of lawyers.

They always win.