For example, the court may award one spouse more marital assets, but the court may also assign to that same spouse more
of the marital debt in order to be fair.
The
payment of marital debts often becomes a contentious issue in a divorce, especially if the couple has a significant number of debts.
You or your attorney need all the facts of your case to present to the judge, such as the values of your assets and the
extent of your marital debt.
This means the court may award either you or your spouse more than half of your marital property or more than
half of your marital debt.
If you and your spouse have a large
amount of marital debt, filing a joint bankruptcy petition may be a way to resolve those debts before the divorce process begins.
If your divorce case is like most cases and settles prior to trial, your property settlement agreement will spell out who is paying what
portion of the marital debt.
For example, your agreement could include a specific list of items each of you will keep once the divorce is final, along with a
list of the marital debts you'll each assume.
In fact, it is so common that sometimes divorce decrees resolve
issues of marital debt by advising or requiring the parties to file bankruptcy.
Separation agreements can address a number of issues, including division of property,
allotment of marital debt, and payment or waiver of spousal support.
Include a provision that a spouse who files for bankruptcy agrees to notify the other spouse of the bankruptcy filing within a certain period of time, such as 10 days, to give the nonfiling spouse the opportunity to contest the
discharge of marital debts in bankruptcy.
If your spouse withdraws money from your joint account, it depends on what he did with the money as to whether he has to pay you back directly or accept a greater
share of marital debt than he would otherwise receive.
The judge can order provisions for support, custody, division of property and
assignment of marital debts, but your marriage isn't technically over, so neither of you can remarry.
Jack has experience handling all types of family law matters, including but not limited to divorce, custody and parenting time (visitation), child support, alimony and spousal support, domestic violence, equitable distribution of marital property, equitable
allocation of marital debt, and child abuse and neglect (DCP&P, formerly DYFS) matters.
The most common issues addressed are custody and parenting time for your children, support for the children and / or spouse, equitable distribution of the marital assets, and
division of marital debt.
While you generally are not responsible for your spouse's non-marital debts, you may very well be ordered to contribute toward the
payment of any marital debts you have incurred, even if your spouse, not you, incurred them.
When negotiating through a divorce, one of the most important topics involves which spouse will get what property once everything is finalized, as well as who will be responsible for what
portion of the marital debt.
Bruce P. Matez has over 20 years of experience handling all types of family law matters including but not limited to divorce (including complex divorce litigation), custody and parenting time (visitation), child support, alimony / spousal support, adoption, domestic violence, equitable distribution of marital property, equitable allocation
of marital debt, DYFS matters, same sex Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships.
He also has substantial experience in matters involving custody and parenting time (visitation), child support, alimony / spousal support, adoption, domestic violence, equitable distribution of marital property, equitable allocation
of marital debt, DYFS matters, same sex Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships.
Bruce has over 24 years of experience handling all types of family law matters including but not limited to divorce (including complex divorce litigation), custody and parenting time (visitation), child support, alimony / spousal support, adoption, domestic violence, equitable distribution of marital property, equitable allocation
of marital debt, child abuse and neglect (formerly DYFS) matters, same sex Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships.
To learn more about the division
of marital debt and how we can help you, contact Cherry Hill, New Jersey, marital property division attorneys at Morgenstern & Rochester today.
The lawyers will also obtain information by asking you and your spouse to list
all of your marital debts and assets; if you and your spouse disagree about the value of a particular asset, you may each hire your own outside expert to help you make that determination.