Ask a Lawyer - Archive
   
Will I Have To Pay My Husband's Debts in a Divorce?
Lee Borden

Q. 

I'm getting divorced and I would like to know if I get all my bills paid off that are in my name, are they going to make us split his bills and I have to pay those, too?

-- Stephanie

A. 

Yes they may. In a divorce, if the parties can't agree, the judge looks at all the debt owed by both parties and divides it up. In community property states, it's a mathematical formula, but in equitable distribution states like yours, it basically comes down to what the judge believes is fair under the circumstances. The longer you have been married, the more the judge is likely to call for your debts to be shared.



-- Lee Borden

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