A sad truth that any bankruptcy lawyer can tell you is that filing for bankruptcy and filing for divorce go together like peanut butter and jelly. As an Orlando bankruptcy lawyer, I have represented clients with money problems for many years and can tell you that many people file bankruptcy as a result of a divorce.
The issue of divorce and bankruptcy is so common with my clients, and the two are linked so well, I will be publishing more articles on the matter. However, this article will be devoted to the effect of filing bankruptcy and filing for divorce has on an individual spouse and any credit card debts they may owe.
The most important thing to remember when discussing divorce and credit card debt, is that the only ones party to your divorce are you and your spouse. That is, a third party, like your and your spouse’s creditors, are NOT part of your divorce proceedings and consequently, are not obligated to abide by your marital settlement agreement.
When separating, it is common for people to assign which debts each spouse will be responsible for after the divorce is finalized. These terms are often memorialized in a marital settlement agreement. This agreement legally binds the parities seeking the split-up to the terms included in the agreement. However, each spouse’s creditors rely on the credit card agreement, the car loan, the house loan, etc., that each spouse signed with the creditor at the time the credit was issued. Frankly, creditors could not care less how you decide to divide the debts between the two of you when you part, and the law is on their side.
Bottom lineIf you each were obligated to the creditor before the divorce, no matter how you decide to divide responsibility for the debt amongst yourselves, you are each still liable to the creditor after you part ways.
Hence, when one spouse discharges their liability for the debts by filing bankruptcy, the other non-filing spouse will continue to be responsible for it. In order to remove that responsibility, the non-filing spouse can attempt to settle the debt with the creditors in question, or end up filing bankruptcy themselves.
Bankruptcy and Divorce invite many complex legal issues. Over next weeks and months I will be discussing the common issues faced in Bankruptcy and Divorce in my blog.
For more information about filing bankruptcy, please check out this FREE E-COURSE from your Orlando bankruptcy lawyer. Also published at Divorce And Bankruptcy: Credit Card Debt.
