Jeff in IL said:
What is the name of your state? CA
My brother is in a bad marriage situation in California. Wife has been running a pyramid scheme with refinancing charge cards without his knowledge.
She does not work so has no reportable income so they must be the "pre-approved" offers. Anyway, $20k later it seems that she is running out of options and begging her family for money.
If he did not sign (which he didn't) is he liable or is the debt hers alone or is he on the hook as well?
Thank you.
This is from a website for a lawyer who I do not wish to give any publicity to; also, you need to wait till a California divorce lawyer is on the forum to answer your specific questions.
As you can well imagine, nothing is simple in California, especially the answers to your questions.
Credits, charges and reimbursements:
You've figured out what's your community property and what's your separate property. You think you know exactly what you are entitled to. Not so quick! You have to deal with the issues of credits, charges and reimbursements. Otherwise, what you thought you were going to get may be dramatically reduced. Here are some, but not all of the credits, charges, and reimbursements that may apply. It is important that you select a Los Angeles divorce lawyer who will take time to interview you thoroughly regarding the source of funds for all the property acquired before and during your marriage as well as after separation to see how this applies to you.
Where did these laws regarding credits, charges and reimbursements come from?
The laws are part of the family code and reported California Appellate Court and California Supreme Court decisions that were certified for publication.
Credits, charges and reimbursements are a complicated area of California law.
There are numerous types of credits, charges and reimbursements under California law. An understanding of this area of the law dramatically affects how much you receive of the community property and what debts are allocated to you. Unless you allow an attorney to take the time to interview you thoroughly regarding how you and your spouse acquired assets and debts before your marriage, during your marriage, and after your marriage, the settlement you agree to might vary from what a judicial officer would award you if all of the facts were brought out and all of the credits and reimbursements were claimed.
Use them or lose them.
If you have a right to request reimbursements and credits, that does not mean that the family law judge has a duty to raise the issue. If you do not ask, you may be waiving your right to ask, and the Court will make an award without regarding to such claims.
Reimbursement rights arising from marital debt liability:
California Family Code § 900 et seq. addresses marital property debt liability and recognizes certain rights of reimbursement. There are time deadlines that apply.
Reimbursement upon property division for community contributions to spouse's education or training:
While there is no community property interest in a spouse's professional education, degree, or enhanced earning capacity, when one spouse works so that the other can attend school or otherwise pursue training for a new occupation or enhanced earning capacity, it is usually with the expectation that the community will benefit from its investment in the training or education. If divorce occurs before the community has benefit, California Family Code § 2641 recognizes a right of reimbursement in property division proceedings for the student spouse's tuition, fees, books, supplies and transportation, but not for ordinary living expenses such as rent, food and clothing, health care and entertainment
Reimbursement pursuant to California Family Code § 2640 for separate property contributions to acquisition of community property.
If there is no a written waiver, and if one spouse requests reimbursement pursuant to California Family Code § 2640 for separate property contributions to the acquisition of community property, then the spouse is entitled to such reimbursement provided that he or she can trace the contributions to his or her separate property.
The party arguing that he or she made a separate property contribution has the burden of showing the contributions.
If successive community property acquisitions are involved, to trace the separate property contributions through each community property asset can be quite challenging.
California Family Law provides for numerous other types of credits, charges, and reimbursements. If there is significant community property involved in your case, you should have your rights carefully evaluated, and you should have your spouse's rights carefully evaluated as well. This web page is not intended as an exhaustive California family law treatise on the subject covered.
