Financial threats are used to trap a spouse in a marriage by claiming they will receive no settlement
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The Situation
What They Said
“If you leave, I will make sure you get absolutely nothing. I have lawyers and I will destroy you financially.”
This phrase is used by a financially dominant spouse to intimidate their partner from leaving or pursuing divorce, using the threat of financial ruin and legal power to maintain control over the relationship.
The Fallacy
Appeal to Fear / Economic Intimidation
This argument uses fear of financial consequences — not a legitimate legal argument — to prevent a person from exercising their legal right to leave a marriage. It misrepresents the other party's legal entitlements by implying that the threatening spouse can simply decide the other receives nothing. In reality, a person's matrimonial property rights are determined by the law and a court — not by their spouse's lawyers or intimidation tactics.
What the Law Says
Your Legal Foundation
Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998
Section 1 — Economic Abuse as Domestic Violence
“'Domestic violence' includes economic abuse, which means behaviour that constitutes economic or financial control over a complainant, including... unreasonably depriving the complainant of financial resources, or threatening to withhold financial support in a way that harms the complainant.”
Threatening financial destruction as a means of preventing a spouse from leaving constitutes economic abuse under the Domestic Violence Act.
Divorce Act 70 of 1979
Section 7 — Court Ordered Division of Assets and Maintenance
“A court granting a decree of divorce may... make an order with regard to the division of the assets of the parties or the payment of maintenance... having regard to the existing or prospective means of each of the parties.”
A court — not the wealthier spouse's lawyer — determines the division of assets on divorce. Financial threats about the settlement outcome cannot substitute for court determination.
What Scripture Says
God's Word on This
Isaiah 54:17 (NET)
“No weapon forged against you will succeed; you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. This is what the Lord will do for his servants — I will vindicate them, declares the Lord.”
Threats of financial destruction are weapons — and Scripture's promise is that these weapons will not ultimately prevail over those who seek justice.
Psalm 37:25 (NET)
“I was once young, now I am old. I have never seen a righteous person abandoned, or his children forced to beg for food.”
Scripture offers assurance that those who pursue justice and right living will not be abandoned — the threat of financial ruin from a controlling spouse does not have the final word.
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You Know the Law — But Do You Know What to Say?
Reading your rights is one thing. Using them under pressure — calmly, correctly, in the right words — is what actually protects you. Members get the scripted rebuttal for this exact situation: what to say first, what to say if they push back, the tone to use, and the constitutional provision to cite. Practise out loud with audio until it's automatic.