Fort Lauderdale Divorce Lawyer Blog
During your divorce in Broward County, the Florida marital and family law judge will divide you and your spouses assets and liabilities. Many of the marital liabilities and debts incurred during a marriage are jointly held. This means that you and your spouse are both equally liable for payment and non-payment of joint debt incurred during the marriage. After your Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer negotiates who will be responsible for all of the marital debt, the divorce judge will eventually approve the marital settlement agreement that deals with the equitable distribution of the marital assets and liabilities.
The court does not generally order the lender or creditor to recognize payment responsibilities during a divorce. Even thought the court can make one spouse responsible for the payment of a debt, the creditor can come after the other spouse and negatively impact his or her credit if he or she has responsibility for the liability with the creditor.
The only way to dispose of your joint marital liabilities is to dispose of the joint debts. This may mean selling the marital residence or a car to protect your credit from being negatively impacted. Another alternative is to refinance the debt into you or your spouses name so that the joint debt will become an individual debt.
It is also in your best interest to pay off your credit card debt. Alternatively, you can transfer the debt to a card of the party who is responsible for the debt and close the joint credit card. This is an option to really protect your credit during a divorce.
Both spouses will benefit if they can consider their credit during a divorce. Once you are divorced, you will need good credit to obtain new loans, new insurance and even new employment.