How to Relinquish Responsibility for a Wife's Debt

Relinquishing responsibility for a husband or wife's debt is possible at different levels depending on the type of debt accumulated. A spouse can avoid being held responsible for student loans, tax debts and child support payments through the filing of an injured spouse form with the IRS on a yearly basis. Other types of debt such as credit card charges, home loans, vehicle loans and bank loans are harder to separate from depending on where you live and when the debt was accumulated.

Instructions

Section 6402 Debts

1

Determine if your wife has any section 6402 debts. These debts are income tax debts at the federal or state level, past due child support, student loan debt and money owed to other federal agencies. Section 6402 debts are withheld from income tax overpayments and can offset the entire tax refund.

2

Obtain a copy of IRS Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation. This form is available in a printable PDF format, but a paper copy can also be requested through the IRS website.

3

Fill out Form 8379. Part I is a series of questions and answers to help you determine if you are an injured spouse. List an alternate address on Line 12 of Form 8379 if you want your refund mailed to an address that is different than the one listed on your joint return. As an injured spouse, the refund you receive is based solely on your income and not assigned to both tax filers. With the exception of Line 12, Parts II and III only require basic information from your tax return while Part IV is the signature section.

4

Submit Form 8379 to the IRS. The IRS allows Form 8379 to be sent in with your annual tax return or separately.

Other Types of Debt

5

Determine when your wife's debt was accumulated. If the debt is from before you were married, and if you and your wife signed a prenuptial agreement releasing each other from debts accumulated before the marriage, then you already relinquished the debt.

6

Find out whether or not you live in a community property state which, as of January 2011, includes Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. These states believe in an even division of debt and income within a marriage.

7

Talk to a lawyer if you live in a state without community property laws. If your wife's debt was solely in her name and you did not share a joint account with her that made payments on the debt, you may not share responsibility for the debt payments with your wife. Because of the high level of variance in marital finance laws from state to state, a lawyer is best able to assess your particular situation.

8

Consult a calendar if you are getting a divorce. Personal debts accumulated by your wife after an official date of legal separation are her responsibility. Ensure that your name is removed from any jointly held accounts as you could be held responsible for new charges on a joint account.

9

Specify which debts belong to you and your wife when your marriage is dissolved and property is divided. Have paperwork drawn up and signed and retain proof of any equalization payments you made to sever your responsibility for joint debt shared with your wife. Ensure that your name and Social Security number are removed from these accounts to protect your credit rating.