My husband snatched my phone out of my hands and refused to give it back when he was very angry with me. He said it belongs to him because he pays for everything, I can have it back when I show appropriate appreciation and love, etc. I’m a SAHM and haven’t worked since we moved to a different state last year, but he’s almost always been the breadwinner even when I had a job.
I was able to get it back and we’ve been physically separated since (it got more physical after he took my phone because I fought to get it back, and he’d been throwing and kicking things in the hotel room that morning) But the children and I have to go back before the school year starts. I’ve heard through his sister (who is on my side) that he is still adamant he has every legal right to confiscate/withold my phone from me which naturally makes me worry he will do it or something similar again. Is it true that he legally allowed to deprive me of my phone? We don’t even have a landline. I have no family nearby so it’s the only way I can speak to them privately. I’m recently bereaved and scrolling photos of the person i lost is therapeutic for me. I’d also get lost driving around our city without it.
Location: Florida
Comments
No. It’s not legal. It’s domestic violence battery in Florida when you snatch a phone out of your spouse/partners hands in this manner. It can also be interfering with a witness or interference with a 911 call.
Document everything and take everything plus alimony in the divorce
Your husband is an abusive motherfucker and you need to leave him. You will never know peace or happiness in your life until you do. Start making a plan on how to do this smartly and safely. This is not normal.
Legally, he gifted you the phone and you own it. But that’s not your real pressing concern.
Please do not go back there with your kids
NAL, but to be technically correct, money earned by either of you belongs to both of you, regardless of who earned it. Your phone is registered to you, was purchased with money belonging at least in part to you, and he cannot legally take it back. It is also domestic violence for him to steal it from you.
He can’t legally take your phone. But much more importantly, if he’s controlling all the money and throwing things around, your ability to have a phone is important but not more important than your safety and the fact that you and your kids are in an abusive relationship. You do not have to take your kids home just because school is starting. You should probably think about whether you want to stay married, and if not, do not go back to the house with them. Document your reasons for leaving the marital home and file for divorce. And of course consult a family law attorney or legal aid clinic.