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Questions About Dividing Marital Debts

It’s sometimes easy for divorcing spouses to forget that marital debts must be divided the same way that assets are distributed between the parties. Through the recession, however, we’ve seen an increasing concern for avoiding liability for more than a client’s fair share of the debts.

If low equity in the marital residence, substantial medical bills or high credit card balances will present important debt division issues in your divorce, you should seek the advice of an attorney with experience in complex or high-conflict property division. We sometimes find that the division of assets might go smoothly enough, with the major snags coming up in the apportionment of marital debt.

Taking into account such factors as the income of each spouse, any projected alimony obligations, child support issues and your broader asset division objectives, we can advise you about the best ways to apportion such marital debts as:

• Tax obligations
• Home mortgage debt
• Medical or hospital bills
• Credit card debt
• Car payments
• Student loans, unless they’re separate obligations
• Bank loans
• Personal guaranties of business debt

Bear in mind that it’s one thing to divide the primary responsibility for a given debt between divorcing spouses, and another thing altogether to adjust your obligations with a creditor.

If your spouse will be responsible for paying a joint debt and fails to do so, the creditor can pursue you for payment even after the divorce.

Experienced Legal Help With Your Florida Divorce Issues

Many people come to our law firm with all issues defined. We can assist in reviewing an existing agreement to ensure your interests are protected, or we can assist in compiling your wishes into a comprehensive settlement agreement, addressing issues such as:

• Property division and debt allocation
• Child custody
• Parenting Plans
• Alimony/spousal support
• Equitable distribution
• Child support
• Other important concerns

Your divorce settlement agreement can then be presented to the court and converted into your divorce decree. You can have confidence in the decisions made, rather than leaving the final judgement up to a judge who does not understand the uniqueness of your situation.

Negotiating Divorce Settlements

When a marriage starts to fall apart, it can be difficult to converse with one another, let alone come to agreement on terms as important as parental responsibility and business asset division. However, when both parties are willing to try to work together to negotiate an agreement, it can save everyone time and money.

Our South Florida divorce lawyers can help you effectively negotiate on complex divorce issues and work with you to create a fair property settlement agreement, parenting plan and other components of your divorce agreement. Even if all issues (equitable distribution, alimony, child support) cannot be decided through negotiation or divorce mediation, remaining concerns can be brought to court. Our attorneys remain dedicated to your interests and your goals, whether we represent you through a negotiated solution or we assert your rights in divorce litigation.