Student Loan debt

My cousin married a woman who was in law school. She had applied for loans before they were married in her name and continued receiving money for two years into the marriage. She completed law achool 5 years ago and has never practiced - now says she does not really want to be an attorney. In fact, she has not worked at any job since completing her degree. So now she is sitting with outstanding school debt in excess of $100k which is now overdue because she has not made any payments. My cousin is fed up with her not working and contributing to the marital partnership but says he doesn’t think he can afford to leave because he will be responsible for 1/2 of her school debt. Is that true since she obtained them before they were married?

No the debts are her separately and he does not have liability for the same unless he co-signed for them.

So even though she received stipends for living expenses as part of these loans, which were deposited into the joint bank account and this went on for the first two years of their marriage, he would not be responsible for the repayment of the college loans?

Funds used for the direct benefit of the marriage should be considered a martial debt.

What are the chances that a judge would award spousal support to a healthy woman with a graduate degree (she has her law license) but has refused to seek employment for 5 years? She got out of school, passed the bar on her first try, and then announced that she doesn’t want to be an attorney. And she has refused to seek employment since that time - other than about 3-4 weeks of legal research work a year. Since she is not disabled and has a professional degree, why should the husband be required to pay spousal support?

Heading towards a separation agreement with the wife. After a consultation w/her attorney, she tells me that I am responsible for half of the debt on her substancial student loans. She got her BS and Masters degree’s during the marriage but with a separation and later divorce coming up, do I have liability? My logic is that since she will soley benifit by her education moving forward, whereas I will not. What is the NC law and how is it applied? Is/are there any precident(s)? She further contends that since we’ve only been paying deferments and very little towards the principle and that I have been enjoying the benifits of her education without paying for it.

Can I please get an attorney to answer this? Thank you.

Heading towards a separation agreement with the wife. After a consultation w/her attorney, she tells me that I am responsible for half of the debt on her substancial student loans. She got her BS and Masters degree’s during the marriage but with a separation and later divorce coming up, do I have liability? My logic is that since she will soley benifit by her education moving forward, whereas I will not. What is the NC law and how is it applied? Is/are there any precident(s)? She further contends that since we’ve only been paying deferments and very little towards the principle and that I have been enjoying the benifits of her education without paying for it.

Starfish: The court can certainly consider the dependant spouse’s ability to earn when making a determination of alimony (both amount and duration). On its own, her refusal to work is not the only factor to consider, as the judge will look at the standard of living established during the marriage, consider the amount of time it may take her to find a job, and all the other factors listed in the statute. I can’t say for sure what the outcome will be, however I will say that a dependant spouse in this situation will likely see less alimony and/or a shorter term than would a dependant spouse with a lesser ability to earn.

Outsider: The technical answer is that a debt incurred during the marriage and for the benefit of the marriage, is a martial debt and therefore divisible. The trend I am seeing now is for the courts to treat student loan debts in some cases as separate and distribute them to the spouse who received the benefit of the education. It really depends on the specific situation, and I can never predict what any one judge will do.

I have a similar situation but whereas I am the dependent spouse. My wife has a masters and because of it makes nearly 3X what I make. She is saying I have to pay for half of her outstanding student debt. I did do most of the work to contact and arrange with a private company to lower her debt and monthly payments. And that there is no legal basis in NC for spousal support and that it cannot be used in my case.

Student loan debt acquired during the marriage can be considered marital debt subject to being divided in equitable distribution particularly if the funds were used for living expenses while the spouse was in school.

A debt is considered marital if it was acquired during the marriage and had a joint marital benefit.


Anna Ayscue

Attorney with Rosen Law Firm Cary • Chapel Hill • Durham • Raleigh • Wake Forest

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