A divorce reduces a marriage to a business transaction in which the divorcing couple enlists the help of a court to oversee the orderly dissolution of the union. This includes determining where children will live, as well as how property is divided. The responsibility for the couple's debt is also decided by the divorce court, which issues court orders detailing its decisions and both parties' obligations moving forward.
Parties to the Proceeding
The parties to a divorce proceeding are the two people seeking a divorce. Other people can ask the court to become parties to the divorce proceeding by asking the court for intervenor status. This may be granted when a person has interests that may not be represented by the divorcing couple. Any court orders issued are binding on all parties of the divorce proceeding. Banks and credit card companies are not parties to divorce proceedings unless they are named as intervenors, and, subsequently, they do not have to follow the court orders concerning who is responsible for the debt. Both parties are still responsible for a joint account regardless of what the court order says.
Refinancing and New Accounts
A divorce court may rule that one party or the other is responsible for the payment of credit cards and other obligations, and the court issues an order to that effect. However, the courts usually do not order the responsible party to refinance the accounts in his name only. If the credit card account remains in both names, both people are fully responsible for the entire account balance. If either person continues to use the credit card, the new charges are also the responsibility of both people.
Contempt of Court
If a person ordered to pay a credit card balance does not pay the account, he may be in contempt of court for disregarding the court order. The non-responsible person can ask the court to find her ex-spouse in contempt of court. With this finding, the judge may order him to pay the bill, or the court may issue other sanctions, including placing him under arrest as the judge sees fit. The finding of contempt does not relieve the other party of her responsibility to pay the credit card bill.
Bankruptcy
A bankruptcy will remove a person's legal obligation to pay off the debt in the eyes of the bank or the credit card company. The bankruptcy usually will not relieve a person of her obligations in the divorce decree. If the party the court has ordered to pay the credit card bill files for bankruptcy, the lender can still pursue the other responsible party. The other person can ask the court to find contempt and order the responsible party to pay the debt. A non-responsible party also can discharge her obligation in joint accounts by filing for bankruptcy.
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