If we got married, would the government come after my assests for his debt?

Question

We've been together for 5 yrs, but he has fed student loans that are being garnished, I have 3 kids, own the house, both our names are on the vehicles and at the end of the yr, I get a decent tax return that we practically live off of, we just want to make sure we can get married and not jeopardize that, or worse they use my assets to settle his debt. Also, I don't want to lose that tax $$$

Answer 1

Your assets that you had before you were married remain your assets, but if they are in joint names, yes they could be subject to being taken. Assets you acquire in just your name after you're married might or might not be protected, and a lot depends on whether you are in a community property state or not.

If you get married and file a joint tax return, then any refund would be taken. You can avoid having your share of the refund (the part that's from your income) being taken by filing an injured spouse form with your return. You could file as married filing separately and your refund wouldn't be taken, but that would probably cost you more overall in taxes - and if you are getting EIC, you wouldn't get it if you filed as married filing separately.

Answer 2

Your situation is complicated, and it can get more complicated if you get married. You cannot expect a good answer without having an adviser look at t the complete situation.

However, if your assets are in your name alone, and they remain in your name, then obligations entered into by your husband alone and not by you would not affect your assets. On the other hand, your earnings after you get married may be viewed as joint property, for example if you put them into a joint bank account. For example, you are both liable for any debts on the vehicles, but only you are liable for your house payments.

Your statement that you practically live off your tax refund indicates that you are not managing your money effectively. Waiting for a large tax refund means that you are lending your money to the government at zero interest, by having too much deducted from your pay. This is not efficient and deprives you of interest income you could earn in a savings account.

There are many tax consequences of getting married, and you should really talk to a financial adviser about your situation to ensure that you arrange your affairs to your best advantage. There are both tax advantages and disadvantages. Of course, you are already married, you just have not yet had a wedding. I hope you love each other very much and will continue to do so for many years in the future.

Answer 3

If the debts were incured before you were married the debts are his and not yours. If married you file a joint return with an "Injured Spouse" form. This allows you to retain almost all ot the refund you are entitled to. If the children are yours and not yours and his then all tax breaks such as the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Credit and claiming the children as dependents will benefit you and not him. If he is the father then there is no way to prevent half ot the benefits going to him. The down side of filing this way is that it delays your tax refund. Since the IRS has to look at the return to determine exactly how much you are entitled to you will not be able to get one of the "Refund Anticipation Loans" that are popular now. It will probably take 4 to 6 weeks or longer to get your refund.

Answer 4

Your assets are yours. Period. If you live in a community property state, creditors, including IRS, can come after community property to collect separate debts. He should act like an adult and take steps to start paying his student loans as agreed to so that tax refund offsets can be stopped.

Answer 5

no, file a injuried spouse form, ask the irs for the forms, they are also on line. I have to file one because of a loan I got before being married.

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