I am in the process of deciding if separation is the right thing for my family. One of my biggest worries is the debt that has accrued. Is the debt automatically split 50/50 or are the salaries of each party looked at? My husband makes significantly more than I do, in the amount of about $30,000.00 more. I am trying to figure out how I will be able to live and pay all the bills that I will have by myself if all debt is split 50/50.
Splitting debt can be tricky. Any marital debt (debt acquired during the marriage and for a marital purpose or joint benefit of the marriage) is subject to being divided equally however, this is weighed with the value of assets that each party is keeping. So the distribution is of the net marital estate: assets minus debts.
Each spouse’s wages will have to be taken into consideration. Sometimes debt can be paid off or decreased by the sale of the marital residence for example. And sometimes the supporting spouse can take on additional debt for the dependent spouse as additional alimony. But the final division of debt is very unique to each particular case. These are just some ways it can be done.
Anna Ayscue
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm Cary • Chapel Hill • Durham • Raleigh • Wake Forest
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