 TITLE: Who Is Responsible for Credit Card Debt in a Divorce? CONTENT: When you get a divorce, you are still responsible for any debt in your name. That means that if you and your spouse had a joint credit card, you are just as liable for that debt as your spouse. Beyond that, however, the details of how credit card debt from your marriage is handled in divorce can depend on several factors, including where you live.\nStates handle debt from a marriage in one of two ways: It's either considered \"community property\" or \"common law\" property. Generally speaking, states that follow common law property rules hold the spouse who incurred the debts responsible for its repayment. On the other hand, states that follow community property rules hold both spouses responsible for debts incurred during the marriage.\nMost states follow common law, which means that a court will hold you responsible for:\n*   Credit card debt that is solely in your name\n*   Joint credit card debt that is both in your name and your spouse's\n*   Credit card debt from an account that you cosigned for your spouse, even if it's not owned jointly\nCurrently, there are 41 common-law property states. If you live in Alaska, you can elect to have your assets treated as community property.\nThe other nine states—Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin—do things differently. These states follow community property rules, which means you and your spouse will be held equally liable for:\n*   Any credit card debts in your name (as a sole owner or jointly)\n*   Credit card debt you cosign for, even if it's not owned jointly\n*   Any credit card debt belonging to your spouse that was incurred during the marriage, even if your name is not on the account or you're not a cosigner\nSometimes, there are exceptions to the rules. During divorce proceedings, the judge has the right to assign a credit card debt to you, even if you aren't technically liable for it. For example, you could be on the hook for a credit card debt that's only in your spouse's name, depending on what it was used for. The same rule goes for your spouse—they could be held responsible for a debt that's solely in your name if the judge assigns the debt to them in a divorce decree, which is legally binding.\nThis can get complicated, however. A divorce decree won't change the contract on the debt, which means the original account holder will retain their responsibility as far as the creditor is concerned. If your spouse refuses to pay the assigned debt, the credit card issuer may come after you. The creditor has a right to continue their collection efforts since the original agreement was between you and the credit card issuer. A divorce decree does empower an ex-spouse to sue their former partner if they don't handle a debt assigned to them, though.\nAlso, know that if you have a joint credit card, you can't just remove yourself from the account. You'll either need to pay off the balance or continue to make minimum payments until the card is paid off before you can close the account. END