Am I responsible for HIS debt? (OH vs WA)

What is the name of your state? OHIO....

I am probably on the verge of divorce and my husband ran up extreme amounts of debt during the last few years of our marriage, which my name was Not on (nor could I ever see how the money was spent), however will probably need to file bankruptsy soon....will His creditors pursue me for His debt? Wait...there's a catch.....

We were legally married in OH, however we lived in WA for a while while he was in the army and remained there as WA residents for a few years after he retired. I believe WA is a no fault, community property state which includes debt incurred in the marriage. I am now back in OH.....will the creditors be able to pursue me because we were WA residents (he still is) or does the fact that we were not married in WA, nor do I live in WA now, help my case?????

Where you live doesn't matter.

You were married in Ohio, so your Ohio marriage was legal in every state. There was no need to get re-married in Washington.

What matters is who files the divorce first. If you file first, Ohio's laws would be controlling. If he files first in Washington, then their laws would be controlling.

Washington is a community property state. Ohio isn't.

The state you contracted the debts in doesn't matter. Community property includes all earnings during marriage and everything acquired with those earnings. All debts incurred during marriage, unless the creditor was specifically looking to the separate property of one spouse for payment, are community property debts. (This is what you would encounter in Washington.)

Ohio is an equitable distribution state. Everything you and your spouse buy or acquire during the marriage is legally owned by the two of you and is marital property. It makes no difference in whose name you buy or acquire an asset. It does not matter whose money was used to purchase the asset. The Court not only orders equitable distribution of marital property but also marital liabilities and debt. Marital debt can include:

1. The mortgage balance on your home.
2. Any debts you owe to banks, savings and loan association, or any lending institutions.
3. Car loans, school loans (if not premarital), home improvement loans, any money you borrowed during the marriage and have not paid back in full (remember, it does not make any difference who signed the loan papers).
4. Loans payable to relatives or friends.
5. Unpaid bills at the time of the hearing (department stores, credit cards, doctors, dentists, etc.)

Equitable Distribution is not automatically a 50/50 split. Title does not count. It does not matter whose name the asset is in. Every asset acquired from the date of marriage to the filing of the Divorce Complaint is subject to equitable distribution. (In New Jersey and a few other states a premarital asset may be subject to equitable distribution if acquired "in contemplation of marriage.")