Are you responsible for your spouse’s credit card debts after divorce?
You have divorced your partner but you may still have to take certain additional steps to ensure your financial stability. If you and your former spouse held joint credit cards before your divorce, ditching debts can be a difficult proposition. It should be understood that a credit card company is not bound by any kind of divorce decrees. Hence, they can be after you for debts that are jointly incurred in case you ex spouse fails to pay. That is precisely the reason why any Orange County divorce lawyer, credit counselor or financial planner may suggest you to end your marriage without any kind of joint debt. Now, this can be done by opting to pay off your joint cards together. Alternatively, the debt in incurred on your joint credit card can be split and then transferred to the card in the name of each partner. The aim for this step is to ensure that all your liabilities are removed for the debts incurred by your partner. Make sure to inventory the wallet you hold and ensure the cancellation of all the joint credit cards during your divorce process.
It can be extremely painful to go through the consequences of stepping into your new life with previous jointly held debts. If your former spouse refuses to pay whatever he or she was supposed to pay or files for bankruptcy, the creditors may be after you to realize the entire debt amount along with penalties and interests. As a precautionary step in this direction, you may include additional provisions into your divorce agreement so that your former spouse has to pay up. However, knocking the doors of the court can be both time-consuming and costly.
Here are the basics
Typically, any debt that is incurred during a marriage is the combined responsibility of both the parties provided they have been co-signers on those credit cards. On the other hand, in case the credit card is in the name of only one spouse and the other partner has been named as an additional cardholder, the latter cannot be held responsible. After the partners have got legally separated, any debt that has been incurred on a credit card is the sole liability of that spouse who made their purchases using the card,
What are the options before you?
You have various kinds of options to handle debts on a joint credit card. The one that you will employ depends on the nature of relationship you share with your ex spouse. A sure shot way to make sure that you don’t have to pay for those joint debts is to cancel all your joint cards. A second option for you could be to pay off all jointly incurred liabilities using your joint savings or joint assets such as a jointly owned property. In case you are not doing well financially, you can consult a good Orange County divorce attorney to assist you in figuring out the various options.
To learn more about the divorce process in California and how mediation can help, please clink on this link to visit our page, What is Divorce Mediation.
Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.
