Understand How Bankruptcy Lawyers Handle These Situations
These circumstances might sound familiar: you and your ex had debt for which you were both responsible, but the divorce decree states that your ex is supposed to pay that debt.
However, you recently found out that your ex isn’t paying. You begin to worry that you are going to be responsible for the debt.
Questions like these may go through your head:
- Can I make my ex pay what they owe?
- Am I actually responsible for the debt if they don’t pay?
- Is what I’ve read on the internet about debt and divorce correct?
- What am I going to do if I find out I am responsible for the debt?
You’re going through a great deal of emotional turmoil and pain right now. What you thought was a fair divorce decree doesn’t seem so fair anymore. Yet, there is help for divorced people who are put in a bad situation when their ex isn’t able to pay.
Learn more about your options by talking with a bankruptcy attorney near you. A bankruptcy lawyer can help guide you through an unfortunate situation and find a cost-effective solution that allows you to finally move on.
Find Out Whether You’re Responsible for Your Ex’s Debt
Let’s start with the hard truth first. Legally, a creditor has the right to pursue either party if the debt is a joint debt for which you both are legally liable. The legal term for this is called joint and several liability, which means the creditor is entitled to collect the entire amount due from either one of you. They can only collect the debt once, but it doesn’t matter to them who pays it. The fact your ex was ordered to pay the debt via divorce decree is not a legal defense to the creditor collecting from you if your ex doesn’t pay.
The specific legal definition says joint and several liability means, “When two or more parties are jointly and severally liable for a tortious act, each party is independently liable for the full extent of the injuries […] Thus, if a plaintiff wins a money judgment against the parties collectively, the plaintiff may collect the full value of the judgment from any one of them.”
In simplest terms, you are both liable for debt, you are separately liable for the debt. Therefore, if one of you doesn’t pay, the other is liable.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work to claim that your ex was supposed to repay the debt. A divorce decree doesn’t protect a spouse from creditors of joint debt. However, you do have options. Here are some of the ways that divorced people try to resolve this situation:
- Family court: Some divorced people who want their former spouse to pay seek out family court proceedings. While the divorce court ordering your ex to pay the debt is not a defense against the creditor, divorce court is where that order can be enforced. In particular, a family court can find your ex in contempt of Court for not paying the debt, which can lead to incarceration. Unfortunately, this can be an expensive path to take because it requires attorney fees that may cost more than the debt itself. Also, if your ex really can’t pay, does it help to get a contempt violation against them. At some point, there is financial and mental benefit to letting the divorce be.
- Talk to a debt relief attorney near you: A bankruptcy lawyer will find a solution to help you discharge your debt through either bankruptcy or a debt settlement plan. These lawyers provide options that are cost-effective and smart to relieve you of your joint debt.
How a Bankruptcy Lawyer Can Help with Debt You Weren’t Supposed to Pay
It is important to grasp the truth that, to your creditors, joint debt is joint debt, even if your divorce decree states that your ex was supposed to handle it.
But let’s move on to the good news. A debt settlement and bankruptcy attorney will suggest a solution to help straighten out your situation.
For example, some clients decide to take on the debt for themselves and negotiate a settlement with creditors. Others may consider initiating the right of subrogation, which means that your ex would have to reimburse you for taking on that debt. You and your former spouse may even agree that you’ll both file for bankruptcy to discharge this debt completely. Depending on this situation, this can be much more affordable than fighting over who should pay debt that neither spouse can really afford to pay.
The bottom line is that a strategic, experienced bankruptcy lawyer will find a solution that potentially helps you avoid paying this debt in full.
Find a Bankruptcy Attorney Near You with Experience with Debt and Divorce
Sometimes divorce-related challenges simply don’t go away, even after the decree is issued. Although most divorcing couples hope that they can just put the past behind them, issues like debt crop up, forcing them to re-experience the pain of the past.
The last thing you want to hear is that you’re responsible for joint debt, even after you decided in the divorce that the debt would be taken care of by your spouse.
Share your story with a bankruptcy lawyer today and see what solutions are available to you. Trustworthy bankruptcy attorneys offer free consultations, so you can see if what they recommend helps you to move on from your marriage, debt and all.