Student loan in divorce

[jazmine]

I am located in Indiana and am going through a divorce. My question is in regard to a student laon that was taken out over the two year period that I was in graduate school.

The student loan was taken out initially to cover previous debts and to help out with household expenses. Since I had a graduate assistantship, almost all tuition expense was covered. A scholarship was also earned to cover the cost of books. In total only about $3000 went toward educational costs and the remaining portion of the total $25,000 went toward household expenses while hubby was off work for ankle surgery, down payment on house, and covering old debts. During this time I worked at least 20 hours a week in addition to going to school and taking care of the house and our daughter, at one point working 3 part time jobs.

In addition, I have put him through taxidermy school by refinancing our house for an additional $14,000. He did not work while going through school and we were required to pay room and board on top of his $4500 educational costs.

He is now refusing to take any responsibility for the student loan. Do I have a chance in the court of law? Please note that the graduate degree now allows me to have an income almost equal to his. He holds no college degrees.

 

[dorenephilpot]

Hello. I'm an attorney in Indiana and will try to answer your questions.

Generally, a student loan is seen as the debt of the person who acquired it. HOWEVER, if you can show that that money was used to pay marital debt/living expenses, I believe you have a sound argument for him being partly liable for those loans.

The other thing that might work out is that you might assume all the student loan debt but take more assets from the marriage to compensate (such as equity in a home).

The court just wants it to be fair and equitable. It doesn't matter to the court who gets what, as long as it's something you are both agreeable to in a settlement agreement.

If you can do that by settlement agreement, the court will sign off on it, and you'll be done.

If you cannot agree, then the court most likely will want you to attempt a mediation first before going to a final hearing at which time the court will hear evidence on both sides and then would impose its decision on you.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Hello dorenephilpot:

Here's one for you from Indiana, of which I would be particularly interested in reading your response :

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?threadid=55823

Doesn't Indiana have automatic Restraining Orders that immediately go into effect when a Dissolution is filed and served ?

Thanks.

IAAL

 

[dorenephilpot]

Thanks. I'll check that one out.

No, we don't have automatic restraining orders here.

They're common, but not automatic.

You can always put in language requesting that the parties be restrained from dispersing marital assets in your petition, but there are other steps to take for an actual restraining order.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Thanks. I'll check that one out.

No, we don't have automatic restraining orders here.

They're common, but not automatic.

You can always put in language requesting that the parties be restrained from dispersing marital assets in your petition, but there are other steps to take for an actual restraining order.

My response:

Thanks for the reply.

It's incredible to me that Indiana couples are not protected from each other "automatically" like they are here in California. In California, if you even "think" of transferring funds, wasting, or hypothecating properties it means Contempt of Court, including fines and / or jail time.

The reasoning behind that California law is obvious, especially when compared to what happened to our Indiana writer.

Maybe it's time to talk to, and petition, the Indiana legislature about this, to keep a man or a woman from financially ruining the other when a Dissolution is filed and served.

Thanks again.

IAAL

 

[dorenephilpot]

I'm having a problem w/this forum notifying me when someone has replied to a thread that I'm participating in. Like this one for example: I didn't get a notice that you had replied. I just stumbled upon it.

I have already checked the box that indicates that I want an e-mail sent to me when someone responds, but it's not happening.

When I first signed on, it was working fine. I got the e-mails. Now I just have to bungle through and FIND the ones where there is an ongoing conversation.

I sent a message to the administrator, but I haven't heard anything back.

Any suggestions on this?

 

[LegalBeagle]

Try a different email address. Maybe you current one thinks the notifications are spam and not sending them on. Email notification works fine for me..

Greece ??