Spousal Debt--Liability

This is really a two part question. The first part asks whether you are liable, as between you and your spouse, for debts incurred by your spouse. The second part of the question asks whether you are liable to third parties (i.e., creditors, for debts your spouse incurred).

Liability As Between You and Your Spouse
Generally, the court has the power to make any order regarding payment of debts as between spouses in a divorce proceeding. Therefore, even if all of the marital debts are in your spouse's name, the court can still order that you pay some or all of those debts. If you fail to do so, your spouse (or even the creditors) may be able to use various collection methods to recover the unpaid debt from you, or may even be able to have you held in contempt.

Liability to Third Parties
With regard to your liability to creditors for your spouse's debts, a Utah statute states that "[n]either spouse is personally liable for the separate debts, obligations, or liabilities of the other . . . " if:

Also, regardless of any of the tests enumerated above, if the court has ordered that you pay the debt (e.g., as part of divorce decree), you are liable for the debt. See Utah Code Ann. Section 30-2-5.

What are Family Expenses?

Family Expenses are the "expenses of the family and the education of the children." Utah Code Ann. Section 30-2-9. All family expenses are the responsibility of both parents. A creditor who is collecting a family expense can seek collection of the debt from either one or both parents, even if one of the parents did not personally sign a contract or otherwise take any action to incur the debt.

View author's page

Send this article

Print this article