You’re thinking about filing for divorce but you want to avoid any unintended consequences.  The first document filed in a divorce is called a Petition for Dissolution.  As soon as it is filed, and even before the opposing party is served with the Petition, the Court enters a Pre-Trial Order. 

The Pre-Trial Order prohibits either party from dissipating assets and from refusing or discontinuing to pay the bills they have traditionally paid during the marriage. 

So, by the time the other party is served with your petition for divorce, there is already a court order in place which ORDERS the party who has been paying the household bills to continue to do so. So if your Husband has always paid your car and medical insurance, he cannot stop paying during the pendency of the divorce.  If the mortgage has always been paid from your Wife’s paycheck, she must continue to pay the mortgage from her paycheck. 

The purpose of the PTO is to maintain the financial status quo of the marriage between the time the petition is filed and the divorce is finalized and to minimize the need to immediately seek Court intervention every time a petition is filed.