I have had several friends do this, most ended up with a few thousand dollars that helped them with initial attorney’s fees, a housing deposit, and things like gas and food when they initially moved out. They didn’t take out huge amounts, just enough so it looked like a typical cash withdrawal for every day marital expenses.

I see a lot of advice regarding reporting it during the divorce. You can if you like, but none of my friends did and they were fine. No attorneys asked for receipts for how they spent 40 dollars of cash they withdrew 6 months before the divorce. Just don’t take out like 500 dollars a pop, that’s a red flag.

Considering how vengeful most of their husbands got about money and everything else when my friends pursued a divorce, I have zero problem about them hiding the few thousand dollars of their marital money to cover initial expenses. One guy immediately went and got several pieces of his his wife’s jewelry (given her by her mother, ffs) and gifted it to his side piece. She never got that back.

Another one started cheating on his wife during her breast cancer treatment, wiped out his wife’s inheritance when he bought himself an 80k car and took 150k for a “business” he started from the inheritance she got when her father suddenly died and his electrical business was sold. When she caught him cheating and discovered the financial theft, he told her he’d go after the rest of the money that was in a trust for their kids’ college education unless she gave him the house.

That last story is the worst one so hopefully your husband won’t be a spectacular douche like my friend’s ex. But it is a cautionary tale, no one would have expected such a “model” husband of 20 years to be so devious and uncaring.

The cash stash is just a safety net if he immediately goes into douchebag mode. Like I said, it’s up to you if you want to declare it during the divorce but if you do it right, it’s not a big deal not to.