Am I responsible for my spouse's student loans and the many credit cards he has in his name only during our divorce??
My spouse consolidated his student loans from before and after we were married. I cosigned for only one of them after we were married, a $6000 loan, He has proposed that he will pay for the loans which total about $60,000 but I suspect he is saying this to prevent me from going after the business he opened Jan 2017. He has not offered anything to me for the business. he just wants me to agree that he will pay for the student loans and for a maxed out credit card in which he added my name to the account, but never told me about it. I never made one charge on the credit card and do not feel as thought I should have to pay for student loans in his name. Please advise. Thank you.
Generally in a domestic relations court you would not be responsible for your husbands student loan, especially those incurred prior to your marriage. I would resist being responsible for the student loans after the date of marriage. On the other hand, you would be responsible for half the marital portion of the credit card debt but also be entitled to half of the value of his business. You need to dig into what the credit card debt consists of. You need an experienced attorney to handle all of this for you, you cant do this alone.
An important point to remember is that a divorce decree doesn't change your obligation to pay the creditor--it's only an agreement between you and your ex as to who is supposed to pay. His agreeing to pay for his own student loan is no concession to you and doesn't provide you with any benefit whatsoever. There is almost no scenario where a court would order you to pay that. The credit card is slightly different--what was it used for? Did you benefit from the charges? Dividing marital debt is as important as dividing marital assets. And as far as the business, some value will have to be placed on it in order for him to complete his list of assets and provide a full disclosure to you.
You are responsible for any joint debts, so you will continue to be liable for the $6000 student loan debt. With respect to the credit card, you are either a user or holder. A holder is responsible for all charges; a user is not responsible for charges. "Adding" your name to the account does not make you a holder, but you will have to contact the creditor to attempt to determine your status.. In my experience, some credit-card companies try to classify users as holders, or they don't have proper records to establish status. If the creditor tells you that you are responsible for the debt, ask for them to send you a copy of the agreement you signed.
Note that if the divorce court allocates responsibility to your spouse for some or all of any joint debt(s), your are still liable to the creditor(s). The divorce court is merely dictating who is responsible for the debt in the domestic relations proceeding, and that determination does not negate your contractual liability with any creditors.
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If you co-signed for a student loan, which is non-dischargable in Bankruptcy, you are liable to pay it, if he does not. To properly answer your questions and address your concerns, the best way to handle this is with an in person consultation with an experienced OH bankruptcy and matrimonial attorney. Use AVVO's Find a Lawyer tool to select a qualified attorney. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE! YOU NEED TO SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY WHO IS LICENSED IN YOUR STATE FOR LEGAL ADVICE. This is merely suggestions for you to think about in discussing your situation with the local attorney.
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