I got a divorce last year and the judge ordered my ex-wife to pay certain debts and me to pay other certain debts. I have paid all the debts I was ordered to pay. The problem is my ex-wife is not paying her debts as she agreed and the creditors are coming after me which is ruining my credit and making it so I can’t buy a house now. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem?
Warren B.
You don’t mention any children, if she is working, if she is educated/trained to do any job, or any other reasons why she is not or cannot pay such as medical issues or loss of a job. She could not be paying the debts just because she is so angry with you for not being there.
People in a divorce are sometimes so angry they will defy the judge and not pay the debts they have agreed to pay, even if they can. They may also pay late just to cause your credit to be bad, again anger sometimes overrides common sense in divorce matters. Everyone has a divorced friend with terrible stories of how ex-spouses treat each other and most of what they tell you is true.
When divorce occurs, the couple may not be able to pay off all their debts at that time or may want to divide the debt between them to pay off. Such as who gets the pickup makes the payments on it, or who gets the house makes the payments (unless children are involved then both parents will have to pay to ensure the children have a home).
Joint debts of the couple can be collected from either or both spouses which is why joint debts should be paid first. Any divorce decree just pertains to the couple and not to the third party creditor. The creditor does not care who is supposed to pay, they just want their money and will do anything to get it. The creditors call this Joint and Several Liability which means they are owed a debt and they are entitled to collect all of the debt from either of you or both of you until the debt is paid in full.
If your spouse was ordered to pay a joint debt and did not the creditor will come after you. You can try to enforce the divorce settlement but that takes time and money and the creditor will still come after you.
What if your spouse files for bankruptcy? Then your spouse’s debts will be subject to discharge. Divorce court ordered obligations that are part of a property settlement or support order are not discharged in bankruptcy, but payments or any monies owed can become part of a repayment plan. If your spouse took responsibility for a joint debt as part of a property settlement, that debt to the other spouse is not discharged by bankruptcy.
Anyone thinking of divorce should make changes to all joint credit cards and bank accounts by separating their finances from their spouses. You can do that by contacting the credit card and removing their name from all joint credit cards and bank accounts. They should also remove their spouse from any accounts they have where the spouse is an authorized signer but the account does not contain their name. Always plan ahead and speak with a divorce attorney before you start removing a spouse from access to credit or money as that may put an unduly harsh burden on them and that action always upsets the divorce judge.
What can you do to protect yourself during a divorce? The best option is to sell any cars or property you owe money on and split the cash, or agree to refinance them in one name only. That way the credit tail will not wag the divorce dog.
Keep in mind some credit card companies refuse to take off a spouse until that card has been paid in full. They do that so they have access to both spouses to pay the bill. The only way to be protected from joint debt and the creditors for that debt is to be removed from the debt, which usually means paying the bill in full and then removing your name from the account.
Joint debt, and its payment, will affect your ability to get credit in the future. The full amount of the joint debt will be counted as your debt when considering your debt load. Any default on a joint debt by your spouse will appear on your credit report as if the default was done by you. Therefore, your first job with joint debt is to get out of it as soon as possible so you will be the person impacting your credit, not your ex-spouse. Sometimes just selling everything and paying off the debt works best for both parties, after all its just stuff.