Is my spouse liable for my credit card debt?
In community property states, a Creditor can claim that if you were married at the time the debt was incurred, both you and your spouse are liable regardless of whether or not you and your spouse were joint account holders.
Community property states are: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin
from wikipedia:
In a community property jurisdiction, most property acquired during the marriage (except for gifts or inheritances) is owned jointly by both spouses and is divided upon divorce, annulment or death. Joint ownership is automatically presumed by law in the absence of specific evidence that would point to a contrary conclusion for a particular piece of property. The community property system is usually justified by the idea that such joint ownership recognizes the theoretically equal contributions of both spouses to the creation and operation of the family unit.[1]
Division of community property may take place by item, by splitting all items or by value. In some jurisdictions, such as California, a 50/50 division of community property is mandated by law;[2] in others, such as Texas, a divorce court may decree an “equitable distribution” of community property, which may result in an unequal division of such. In non-community property states property may be divided by equitable distribution. Generally speaking, the property that each partner brings into the marriage or receives by gift, bequest or devise during marriage is called separate property (i.e., not community property). See division of property. Division of community debts may not be the same as division of community property. For example, in California, community property is required to be divided “equally” while community debt is required to be divided “equitably”.[3]
Property that is owned by one spouse before the marriage is the separate property of that spouse, unless the property is “transmuted” into community property. The rules for this vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Thanks for sharing this topic..
I have the same situation and glad this helps..
In most jurisdictions both parties of the marriage are responsible for any debts, including credit cards.
very interesting…
Does anyone know if having <a >tenants contents insurance</a> has any bearing on the division of property during the process of a divorce?
My friend’s husband just informed her that he got a credit card. She was never notified by the credit card company and does not approve of her husband having this card. Especially since she is the primary wage earner and pays nearly all the bills herself. Also, her marriage is in very real trouble of ending. What can she do?
@dawn: she should find out if she’s a “joint account holder”, first thing. if she is, she can close the account OR have her name removed from it. if she’s NOT on the account, there’s not much she can do.
in a divorce in a community property state, the credit card company can try to go after her for the debt, but she can dispute it and put a statement on her credit report that the debt did not belong to her, etc.
much luck to your friend!
great post, thanks
This is a common problem with the standard divorce…things like credit card debt take priority over just moving on with your lives smoothly.
If divorcing couples decide to get a collaborative divorce or go through divorce mediation…confusion like this would be worked out between the two of you.
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the wikipedia article is talking about properties acquired by married couples. i dont think that has anything to do with personal credit car debt if not on a joint account