You and your soon-to-be-former-spouse know how you want to handle your marital home in your divorce, but you do not know how Texas courts deal with debts. What should you expect moving forward?
InCharge Debt Solutions explores how courts divide debt during divorce. Understand your financial responsibilities while navigating a marital split.
Mortgage
If you and your current spouse have an unpaid mortgage, usually, either the partner awarded custody of shared children or the higher-earning partner takes on the mortgage debt. In either case, one partner must buy out the other for the property's equity.
If neither party wants to keep the marital home, you may agree to sell it and split the proceeds. With this option, make an agreement on handling the remaining mortgage to safeguard your credit scores.
Credit cards
You and your current spouse may have joint credit cards. If so, you have shared financial responsibility to pay down credit card debt accumulated during your marriage. No matter the party making payments or whose name appears on an account, you must work together to pay down accounts. If you or your spouse have separate card accounts in your individual names, only the person listed on the account must repay the debt.
Medical
Because you live in a community property state, if your spouse has medical debt, you assume financial responsibility for repaying it.
Auto loan
With car loans in divorce, you could work out a deal with the lender to take out automatic payments from your current partner's individual account rather than a joint account or your personal account. You could also refinance the loan so that only your name appears on the account. If one person neglects to keep up with payments, both party's credit may suffer.
Move carefully when managing debt in divorce. A single wrong move may cost you more than you realize.