I want a divorce from my husband, but how do we resolve the debt we have accrued together?

Question

We've been together a long time so all of our debt is OURS. About $35,000 plus our mortgage with no equity. What do I do to get out of this?!?

Answer 1

In my case, I took ALL the debt on just cause I didn't want my credit ruined by my ex that didn't care about his credit. BUT, since you are stressing how it is OURS, if you and your husband are in agreement on the divorce, I would suggest you meet in a public place to avoid yelling and screaming that may happen at home. Prior to the meeting, write down all the items that are assets and liabilities, then when you meet divide them up. Agree to sell whatever you both can part with and the money for that will go to the debt. Have as much written down as to what each person is willing to take on for the debt then take it to an attorney for a Stipulation Agreement to be written up. This is what I did in my divorce and I filed papers for Separation and it was all included. That way if he didn't do what was ordered, I could take him to court as it was in writing and not affect me. Your property and such will depend on if you live in a community property state or not. The community property states are a bit different than common law states in that they address everything from each spouse as split. (Arizona ,California ,Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin are community property)... the rest are common law states. This is where your attorney handling your divorce would best advise you.

TIP: To help save money on attorney fees, if this is a mutually agreed upon divorce, get as much of the "debt consolidation" agreements in writing with him to take to your attorney and put in writing as part of the divorce and I HIGHLY recommend a public place so you both remain calm and not cause a scene and can get it done faster than trying where you live where arguments may insue. Best to you.. hope this helps some light on a not so pleasant situation.

Answer 2

ok. First, can you live in the same house while you are going through the divorce? If you can, it is far more practical financially.
Put the house up for sale immediately. It is just easier not to have that hanging over your head with the divorce papers. Try to sell the house first.
The credit card debt will be owed half by each unless one party agrees to take on more than half. If he makes much more than you, he might agree to taking on more than half if you are amicable and not hostile during the divorce period. If he doesn't want a divorce and you do, then he probably won't agree to that.
You are very limited with bankruptcy these days as new laws have gone into effect with credit card debt and it is often no longer excused, so don't plan on that route. It also messes up your credit for over a decade. Just plan on having to pay back whatever debt you end up with.
Try selling the house for sale by owner. I used to sell real estate, so I know this is the best method when you don't have money for commission sales. You can hire a real estate lawyer to draw up the paperwork and it will be a lot less than commission. The lawyer can also point you in the right direction as to marketing the house in your area.
Make sure to stop all joint accounts. Just call up credit cards and cancel, only one party is needed to do this.
Set up separate bank accounts during the transition and keep records of every penny spent on joint ventures such as mortgage, food, anything.
Start being extremely frugal and don't buy a single thing you don't need.
Start dividing the physical assets as well. Who gets what. Then have a yard sale and list items online and agree to put the proceeds on the debt payments. Don't sell anything you are going to need to replace though.
Give up your vices; alcohol, cigarettes, whatever is costing you money that you don't need.
Try to think up creative ways to earn some more money during this time. Take up an evening waitress job if necessary, it will give you exercise, a place to meet new people, and time apart from this man that you no longer want to be married to.
The closer you can get to owing nothing at the end of the divorce the better you will feel, and be able to start over fresh.

Answer 3

Splitting the non-mortgage debts 50/50 is a fair way to start. But you can take into account who benefits most from a particular debt. For example, if part of the debt is a car loan, then the person who gets to keep that car ought to be responsible for the car payments.

Another way to do it is to divide it up in proportion to income. If the husband makes twice what the wife does, then he pays 2/3rd of the debts and she pays 1/3rd.

Keep in mind, any agreements you make between yourselves don't obligate the lenders. So if your husband agrees, informally or as part of a divorce settlement decree, to pay a particular debt, and then he doesn't do it, the lender can come back to you for payment, if you co-signed the loan.

Answer 4

It doesn't matter whos is whos. In my divorce, I got stuck with almost everything just to get the divorce over with after 2 years of trying to settle on something. The only thing he had to pay was his debt to the government. I got the credit card, the past due cell phone bill, past due rent including the court costs for garnishments, and a dentist bill that was for his teeth. The only way get take care of it is to pay half 17,500.00. Good luck.

Answer 5

Well it depends on the state. My state it is 50/50 in wisconsin. I got divorced in louisiana, and my x husband and I had $11000 dollars in debt. If I were you I would sell the house, to take some of that debt out. then what we did was we split the debt in half. You pay one half he pays the other.

Answer 6

Expenses incurred are spilt 50/50 unless one party agrees to handle all the debt of any one (or all) particular bills.

Hey...marriage is share and share alike. Even carries over in divorce.

Answer 7

You don't! The judge more than likely will do it 50/50. If you have any equity in your house you need to sell it and pay off the dept.

Answer 8

Start by talking to a lawyer. Let him know about all your dept and he can give you information on how to handle it. Every couple that split up have debt, so this is nothing new, so don't wait, go now so you can start the process.

Answer 9

Sell the house and split right down the middle. YOu will be working to pay off your half for a while. Do you actually think you don't have to pay?

Answer 10

Sell your property and payoff your combined debt. That is the best way. Or consolidate it all and split the payment see a lawyer about that.

Their is no away around it so do the responsible thing.