Am I Responsible for Marital Debts That I Am Not the Co-Signer on in Colorado?

Colorado's statutes include an antiquated law, on the books since the late 19th century, that makes a husband responsible for his wife's separate premarital debt once they purchase property together. But according to Andrew Oh-Willeke, a Denver attorney, the law has never been called into play, and one spouse is not usually liable for the separate debts of the other if he didn't co-sign for them. Loopholes exist, however.

Creditors

If your spouse runs up exorbitant credit card debt in his own name, and you own property together, his creditor can place a lien against the property if he doesn't pay, even though you own half of it. The creditor can't pursue you personally for the debt, it can't garnish your wages and it can't seize bank accounts in your sole name, but it can get a judgment against any property you co-own.

Bankruptcy

If your spouse files for bankruptcy in Colorado, it usually has no effect on you. If debts are in her name alone, and if she discharges them in bankruptcy, her creditors can't come after you for payment instead because you're married. Co-signed debts are an exception, however. If you co-sign on an account with her and she discharges her responsibility for it in bankruptcy, the creditor can then look to you for payment.

Divorce Court

As long as you're married, you have no responsibility for your spouse's debts, except for these loopholes. But that changes in the event of a divorce. Colorado is an "equitable distribution" state. This means that both of you are responsible for all debts contracted for after the day you got married, no matter whose name they might be in. When a marriage ends, the court allocates all this marital debt between the spouses for payment. So although the law bars a creditor from coming after you for debts in your spouse's separate name, if you part ways, a judge can assign the debt to you anyway. Because Colorado is an equitable distribution state, a judge can consider which of you signed for or ran up the debt in the first place, but the law doesn't obligate him to do this. He can assign more debt to a spouse that earns more, even if the spouse didn't co-sign for the accounts.

Tips

Colorado has a law called the "family car doctrine." If your spouse causes a major collision that results in financial liability and a judgment is taken against him, you might be jointly responsible for that judgment. It's not something that you would co-sign for or voluntarily agree to pay, but you would be partially responsible for it anyway.