When you marry someone, you are not just sharing your life with someone emotionally and physically. You are also most likely combining your financial lives into something new that you both control to some extent. Depending on your relationship, you may choose to keep your financial lives separate for your own personal reasons. If you get divorced, though, you may wonder how responsible you are for your spouse’s debt. A Kansas City, KS divorce lawyer can help.
Understanding Debt in a Marriage
In most marriages, you are largely considered solely responsible for all the debt that you have incurred prior to getting married, including credit card debt, medical debt, student loans, and anything else for which you were responsible. Your spouse is responsible for their own pre-marital debt as well unless you assisted them by cosigning a loan or establishing a joint bank account before marriage. In those cases, you would be at least partially on the hook for any associated debt.
A lot of debt can be accrued throughout a marriage, particularly a long-running one. In the event of a divorce, in addition to establishing child custody and spousal support, you are likely going to be held jointly responsible for all the debt that you both developed during the marriage. You may be unaware of just how much debt has been created during your marriage. It might be possible that your spouse hid certain financial information from you, which could be catastrophic.
If you are worried that your spouse hid finances from you and is responsible for leaving you to repay a considerable amount of debt, it is vital that you speak to an experienced divorce lawyer as soon as possible. You need to know exactly how much you are expected to repay and why. A good divorce lawyer can help you figure out a strategy to fight this and even provide assistance with other aspects of your divorce, such as asset division and alimony.
Situations Where You Would Be Responsible for Debt
In Kansas, there are multiple financial situations where you could be held at least somewhat responsible for paying off your spouse’s debt. It is vital to the success of your divorce and your continued financial security that you understand these situations and how they might apply to you. A good divorce lawyer can help you figure out the most effective way to fight these situations, if at all possible. Here are some of those situations:
- Joint debts. When you are going through a divorce, the judge presiding over your case is going to analyze every aspect of your finances to ensure that both parties are held responsible for an equitable division of marital debt. Since it was debt that was accrued during a marriage, you are likely going to be held responsible for paying it, just as your spouse will be. This debt will include home mortgages, joint credit cards, and any leases.
- Joint assets. The court will split any assets equitably, just as they would any debts. Unfortunately, even if you are considered a joint owner of any assets, they will most likely be liquidated in order to pay off your spouse’s outstanding debts. You may not be able to do anything about this, but you can still try to fight it.
- Wasteful dissipation. Wasteful dissipation is when your spouse will intentionally spend or sell the marital assets in a wasteful way with the intention of trying to make sure you get as little as possible in a divorce. It’s done purely out of spite, and if you can prove it, a judge may hold your spouse responsible for some debts instead of you.
FAQs
Q: Are You Considered Responsible for Your Partner’s Debt After a Divorce?
A: Yes, you are probably going to be considered responsible for your partner’s debt if you get divorced. You are going to be held at least partially responsible for any debts accrued during the marriage, as will your partner. When it comes to everything you brought into the marriage, the premarital debts and assets, that will solely be your responsibility.
Q: What Is Considered Marital Debts?
A: Any debt that was absorbed throughout the duration of your marriage will be considered a marital debt. It doesn’t matter which spouse accrued the debt. Since you are married, it is a joint responsibility to pay it off. The lone exception is any debt that was clearly assigned to one spouse – particularly student loan debt.
Q: Is Asset Division Equal in Kansas?
A: No, asset division is not necessarily equal in Kansas. The state uses an equitable distribution model, which means that assets and debts are distributed as fairly as possible, and fair does not always mean equal. Everything that needs to be divided is done so in a way that is considered a fair distribution. In order to determine this, many factors are taken into consideration, such as the length of the marriage and each spouse’s earning capacity.
Q: How Is Marital Property Different From Separate Property?
A: There is one distinct difference between marital property and separate property that cannot be overstated. The primary difference is the time at which that property was acquired. If it was something you or your spouse owned before you got married, it is considered separate property. If you want to protect your separate property, you can try to work something out with your spouse or consult a lawyer’s help.
Contact a Kansas City Divorce Lawyer Today
Getting divorced can be stressful and frustrating on its own, even without having to pay back a significant amount of marital debt for which your spouse was responsible. If you ever find yourself in this situation, it is vital to your case that you reach out to an experienced divorce lawyer who can help you figure out a game plan and even possibly keep you from having to pay some of the debt.
The legal team at Stange Law Firm can help you figure out how much debt you need to repay and may even be able to help you fight it. Contact us to speak with someone on our team about your case.
