What about debt in community property state after divorce

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/08/2010 - 04:33
Forums

Hello,

I am going to get divorced in the next year or two. I have never worked outside the home in several years and have no income of my own right now. I do have excellent credit in my name only but carry no balances on anything. My husband has a spending problem and has one CC, in his name only, that he constantly charges up to the maximum. I have spent YEARS trying to keep it paid off on a monthly basis but when that becomes impossible I make only the minimum payment. Since my husbands job includes an annual bonus we have been using this to pay off the card balance each year, only to see it run up to the maximum again within 6 months or so. When we divorce we plan to go through a mediator and I will be insisting on him taking full responsibility for that CC balances that are in his name only. What he buys is not stuff for the family but lots of clothes and toys for himself.

My question is that since we are in a community property state can he insist I be responsible for half his debts even though the creditors don't even know I exist? I'm not even an authorized user and never have been. Is there anything I can do to protect myself from him, or am I just going to have to accept that whatever he does while we are married will be my responsibility too? We have a joint mortgage, a joint checking account, and one CC that is used for overdraft protection on that account only (no balance). I've separated everything else and canceled what I could and have the credit bureau reports for us both that I keep clean.

Thanks

Hi Brianna,

In a community property state, both the spouses are held responsible for debt incurred during the marriage. Thus, generally the debts (incurred during the marriage only) are equally divided between the husband and wife during a divorce. However, laws still vary according to states. Thus, it would be more easy for me to help you in this if you could have provided more information on this. That is can I know your state, and when was this account opened? Was it before or after the marriage.

Another thing is that, as you are going to go through divorce, you will take the help of an attorney. You can consult your attorney too for the division of the debts.

Thanks,

Aaron

Tue, 06/08/2010 - 06:27 Permalink