How Do You Find Out How Much Debt You Have in the First Place?
During a divorce, you will have to sort out your financial affairs and determine not only what assets belong to whom, but also what debts belong to which partner. The first step in doing this is to find out how much debt you and your partner have accumulated to this point.Finding how much debt you have between the two of you can be achieved by ordering credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.It is also important that you stop anymore debt from accumulating. If you are trying to sort out who owes what, it makes it more difficult if the list is ever-growing.
Once You Have Figured Out How Much Debt There is, How Do You Distribute it Between Partners?
Next you will want to look at the credit reports to see how much debt is considered separate debt and how much is shared debt. Obviously, the debt that solely belongs to one partner is the responsibility of that partner.However, sorting out the shared debt can be a bit more complex. There are several options divorcing partners have in order to distribute the shared debt: - You and your partner can decide to just pay off the debt with joint assets before you proceed with getting a divorce. This saves the trouble of trying to figure out who will get which debts.
- One partner could decide to take on a greater share of the joint debts in exchange for receiving a greater share of the joint assets. While the other partner may get less of the assets, they gain by having less debts to pay off in their new life.
- You and your partner could decide to evenly split the shared debt. Note: in the eyes or your creditors, this makes you both wholly responsible for paying off your debts.
Should I Consult a Divorce Attorney when Trying to Sort Out Debts During a Divorce?
It would be very wise for you to consult a divorce attorney while going through divorce proceedings. Your divorce attorney will be able to represent your interests in a professional manner and be able to guide you through the legal process of divorce. |
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