Credit Cards and Loans

[Melinia]

Hello,

My husband is filing for divorce. He has already been to an attorney. He says we have to split everything down the middle and if I want to keep the house I have to pay him his half of the equity. I can not afford an attorney. The question I have is, I have a loan and a few credit cards that are in my name only. I obtained these credit cards during the marriage. If we are splitting all debt and assessts does he have to pay half of these also or are they just my debt to pay off alone?>

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: If we are splitting all debt and assessts does he have to pay half of these also or are they just my debt to pay off alone?

A: It sounds like he is wanting to split the marital assets and the marital debts. How the debts and assets are split up will be finally decided by the court, but you may have to negotiate with him on a fair settlement to present to the court. For instance, if he got any benefit off what you charged on your own personal credit card, he may need to pay for part of it. If he got no benefit, then the court may not make him pay.

 

[MarkP]

Hopefully, things go fairly for you. I had a similar situation where my ex was ordered to pay a portion of a credit card debt. She did not and let the balance grow until it went into a penalty interest rate. By the time I found out, the payment was 400 a month just to pay the interest. The punch line is that the credit card company is not bound by what a divorce court decrees. The credit card application was signed by me and the delinquent credit was on my record, so the $12K bill was mine alone. Good luck.