In Getting a Divorce, Is the Wife Responsible for the Husband's Debt That He Made While Married?

During marriage, spouses in some states may share responsibility for each other's debts. Once you're divorced, however, you aren't responsible for your husband's individual debts, even if he rung up the bill while you were married. If your name is on the account, however, you could be liable even if your spouse incurred the debt.

Marital Debt

In community property states, debts incurred by either spouse during the marriage become the responsibility of both parties: If your spouse disappears, a creditor can hold you responsible. In common-law states, debts are only jointly owed if both spouses sign for them or if the debt benefits the marriage, for example by providing food, clothing or child care. After divorce, even in community property states, you have no liability for debts your wife incurred on her own.

Complications

In community property states, you're liable for your spouse's marital debts until you actually divorce: Even legal separation doesn't change that. You could be liable for his debts after you divorce if he incurred them on a joint account. If you share a credit card, for instance, and he runs up a $5,000 bill on a trip to Las Vegas, the company has the right to come after you for the debt if it can't get the money out of him.

Agreements

Along with dividing up property in a divorce, spouses often divide up joint debts, agreeing, say, that the husband will pay off the credit card while the wife pays off the auto loan. The couple can divide the debts evenly or one spouse can assume greater responsibility in return for a concession in dividing up property. If your spouse accepts responsibility for a joint debt and doesn't pay, the agreement doesn't bind the creditor at all: He's still entitled to sue you for the money.

Bankruptcy

If your spouse files for bankruptcy, he may be able to wipe out his obligation for any shared debts, but that won't erase yours, so the creditors can still try to collect from you. Even if he signed an agreement to pay specific debts, he can discharge that obligation in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The safest course is to arrange to wipe out as much shared debt as possible during the divorce.