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Do You Divorce Your Debts too During a Divorce?

This entry was posted in Community Property Divorce General Information on by

When getting a divorce, there are a lot of things that have to be taken into account.

First, you should get a lawyer and figure out how to go about your divorce.

Of course, you also have to think about where your children, if you have any. Your lawyer should also advise you regarding conjugal properties. What to do with all the things you both own? How do you go about dividing your money? Who pays for what now? What happens to the debts you share?

Marital Debts

Marital debts are debts incurred during your marriage and before the awarding of a divorce decree. It can be split among the spouses by the court or based on the settlement reached between the pair. This applies in the state of Texas and makes debts like that are the easiest kind to settle.

Credit Accounts

The kind of debt that may be more difficult to handle are debts on credit accounts. Credit accounts that are opened during your marriage that are under either your name or your spouse’s name, sometimes even under both your names, are harder to settle as there is still the possibility of debts being incurred after your marriage. Figuring out who pays for what in the credit accounts after the divorce may become more confusing.

What normally passes off after divorce is that any purchases made by either partner after the divorce is their obligation and must be compensated. The only problem with this is that any unsecured credit card debts, if left unpaid, they may end up piling interest up until it becomes too heavy a burden. This will make it harder to pay for.

Steps You Can Take with Regard to the Debts

Things can be done with regard to credit accounts such as settling them as soon as possible. The same also goes for all the debts that were incurred during the marriage.

It would be more beneficial to call off any joint credit accounts that were created during the spousal relationship before you start a divorce. You can avoid the risk of having any unpaid debts due to purchases made after the divorce this way. Should you be unable to cancel any joint credit accounts before the divorce, it would be best to take note of any and all purchases made with the credit score.

Avoid getting caught up in debt due to the purchases of your partner would be to go to the court and file for documentation regarding joint credit cards. This way, you and your spouse can settle who pays for what in the pre-existing debt incurred during the marriage.

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Hutton Law

Mr. Hutton is a Divorce and Custody Lawyer based out of Round Rock, TX. His background is with child psychology at Arizona State University where he received a B.S. in 2006, and he continued this by working with the Children’s Right’s Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law where he received his J.D. in 2009. Throughout his practice, he has been a strong proponent of utilizing modern technology to improve his practice and the representation of his clients. He currently is the technology chair of CAFA of Travis County and is committed to improving and modernizing the practice of law in Texas. If you have any questions you can contact him at timothy.hutton@austintexaslegal.com

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