Complications with joint credit card debt after divorce

Donna Cheswick

Examiner.com

A marriage ends once the divorce decree is finalized; however complications involving joint credit card debt can live on long after the divorce is over.   Many times one spouse will be assigned all or a portion of the marital debt as stipulated in the divorce decree.   However, credit card companies could care less what you and your former spouse agreed to in court. They see the credit as a legal obligation of both parties and will therefore enforce the debt obligation for either owner on the account regardless of marital status. So if your ex fails to make monthly payments or files for bankruptcy your creditors can, and will, go after you for the full amount of the debt, plus interest and penalties.

Even if there is wording in your divorce agreement that requires your ex-spouse to pay these debts, you will have to go back to court to get this enforced. Not only can this be time consuming and costly, but in the meantime the debt load, payments and default or referral to a collection agency will negatively impact the credit report of both account holders.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-5420-Pittsburgh-Divorce-Financial-Planning-Examiner~y2009m6d22-Complications-with-joint-credit-card-debt-after-divorce