Dividing the Debts

41. Who will pay our bills? Debts are considered when property is divided. Debts can be divided so that the net effect of dividing property and debts will be an equal division between the husband and wife. Your attorney will ask you for detailed information about all of your property as well as all of your debts. Typically when a party receives a major item, such as a car, as a part of the divorce, the party who received the car will be liable for the debt owing on it. This would also usually apply to home mortgages. Once again, there may be exceptions to this general rule. You should be aware that while the court can order you or your spouse to pay a particular bill, that does not prevent the creditor from asking either of you to pay it if you were both originally obligated on the debt. It is not unheard of for a person to have a credit card company pursuing them for a debt that the other party was ordered to pay. Your attorney can explain what this means in greater detail.