Divorce, Separation, Marriage Termination; you may call it as you wish, but the ordeal is the same. You have to deal with many things like alimony, child custody, Debt payment etc. In such a situation having a great divorce lawyers are a must.
One of the major concerns is the division of Debt Payment. Apart from the property acquisition in a marriage even debts are divided between the spouses. The divorce laws in this regards in all the states are almost the same with some differences in cases of community states. This is how debt is divided in a divorce:
Joint and several liability means both spouses are individually as well as jointly responsible for the debt as it is attributed to both. In some divorce cases the whole debt is incurred on one spouse and that spouse gets more share in the property as an equalization settlement.
Family debts are the expenses incurred for benefit of the family. Expenses like buying a house, child care, family vacations etc. are covered under the family debts. Both the spouses are responsible for repayment of these debts as both have derived the benefits from these expenses. These debts are a type of joint and several liability.
One spouse debts are the expenses incurred for the benefit of that particular spouse. A hobby or a vocational training etc., pursued by a spouse is of his benefit, so he has to repay for the same. However, top divorce lawyers in any community state will be the first to admit that all expenses during a marriage are a joint responsibility even if the beneficiary is just one spouse.
A divorce attorney is very essential for all settlements in regards of confusing debt payment. So hire the services of a good divorce lawyer if you want to forget concerns about division of debts in divorce.
