To all,
Thank you for your well wishes. The bulk of the family matters are behind me - the passing of elderly parents - but still dealing with estate matters so my “spare time” is limited.
Wendy,
You initially asked whether or not a married person (in a non-community property state) can file bk listing only that person’s credit cards and whether or not the filing will impact the non-filing spouse’s credit.
I mention “in a non-community property state” because I am in Arizona where, regardless of the name on the credit card, both spouses are fully responsible. In a non community property state, such as New Jersey, I do not believe both spouses are responsible unless both are signers on the account. You will need to verify this with a local attny.
Having said the above and assuming you are not responsible for your husband’s credit cards you should not have to list then in your bk. If you are a signer then I believe the full debt must be included. Again, you need to verify this with a local bk attny.
If your husband is not filing with you and none of his credit cards are listed in your bk (because you are not a signer on the account), your bk should not impact his credit. The problem however is that credit reports, IMHO, are notoriously inaccurate and it would not surprise me if somehow, your bk info ended up connected with your husband. Should that happen, he would have to dispute the information and get it removed.
I wish I could be more thorough but in my neck of the woods this issue almost never comes up.
Des.