Am I Responsible for My Husbands Judgment If He Is a Sole Proprietor?

A sole proprietorship is the easiest form of business to create and it also carries the most risk. You could end up owing quite a bit of money in connection with your husband's business debts if his business is a sole proprietorship. Keeping your finances strictly separate is the best method of protecting your accounts from a creditor's judgment in connection with your husband's sole proprietorship.

No Liability Protection

A sole proprietorship offers no liability protection for a business owner's personal assets when a creditor is pursuing the owner for a business debt. A creditor obtaining a judgment against the business owner for the payment of a business debt may move to seize personal banks accounts and property up to the limits of the judgment. If you share any financial assets or property with your business-owner husband, a creditor may execute a court judgment against those assets or property because your husband's name is on the title or the account.

Garnishing Wages

Your wages should be exempt from garnishment for the payment of your husband's business debt because your wages are in only your name. This is the case even if you're an employee of your husband's business. It may be a smart financial move to keep your earnings out of any bank account you share with your husband while a creditor is pursuing a judgment against the business. This helps keep a creditor from seizing your wages if the creditor is able to freeze the account through a court judgment.

Assets Before Marriage

Any assets you had before your marriage should be exempt from a creditor's judgment, even if your husband is the sole proprietor of a business. States usually consider property held by a spouse before marriage as separately owned, which means a creditor can't move to seize or place a lien on the property because it has no connection to your husband's business debt. If you used any of your property as collateral for a business debt, this may give a creditor the ability to seize the asset or place a lien on it.

Federal Tax Debts

Taxes owed to the federal government are in a separate liability category. If you and your husband file taxes jointly, you share in the liability associated with any taxes owed. Basically, if one of you owes, you both owe the government. The IRS has broad powers to seize your assets, garnish wages and drain your bank accounts while in pursuit of back federal taxes. In most cases, the IRS doesn't need a court order to execute any action to recoup a delinquent tax debt.