Marital Debt

[jcarter]

What is the name of your state? Tennessee

Have been married for 13 years, and he filed for divorce 3 months ago. There is a dispute with some credit cards.... These cards were in my name only and were prior to 2002 and a loan in my name was taken out to pay them off. Is this marital debt or not?

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by jcarter

What is the name of your state? Tennessee

Have been married for 13 years, and he filed for divorce 3 months ago. There is a dispute with some credit cards.... These cards were in my name only and were prior to 2002 and a loan in my name was taken out to pay them off. Is this marital debt or not?

Sounds like it depending on what was purchased on the cards. The cards were opened during the marriage and loan was taken out during the marriage to pay them off. How were payments made before the loan? What was purchased on the cards? I am saying yes on the marital debt from what you have stated.

[quote=jcarter]What is the name of your state? Tennessee

Have been married for 13 years, and he filed for divorce 3 months ago. There is a dispute with some credit cards.... These cards were in my name only and were prior to 2002 and a loan in my name was taken out to pay them off. Is this marital debt or not?[/QUOTE]

Since you've been married since approx. 1993, I would say yes.


What factors does a court consider in deciding debt division?
Debt division can be difficult to navigate. Tennessee law states that the Court will consider the following factors:
The debt's purpose;
Which party incurred the debt;
Which party benefited from incurring the debt; and
Which party is best able to repay the debt.
As a practical matter, where debt secures a particular asset, a court will almost always require the party receiving the asset to pay any and all associated debt and hold the other spouse harmless. The court may also require the party to refinance the debt, removing the other spouse from the liability.

Maybe this site will give you some more information: [URL="http://www.memphisdivorce.com/property_division_faq.html"]http://www.memphisdivorce.com/property_division_faq.html[/URL]

Stand by for other opinions!