It is not uncommon for married residents in Minnesota to have shared debt. This may include a mortgage, car loans, credit cards or even personal loans all taken out in both spouses’ names. A lot of discussion occurs around a property division agreement in a divorce, but people must remember that it is the couple’s debts as well as the couple’s assets that must be split. In some situations, there may be disagreement about what debt is truly joint or who should pay what portion of a debt.
As explained by SoFi, one important factor can be the official date of separation. It can be helpful to have this clearly identified as it may be determined that any debt incurred after this date is the sole debt of the spouse who made the charge or accepted the debt.
Value Penguin adds that another factor to evaluate is when any debt was incurred relative to the date of the marriage. In other words, if one spouse brought a specific debt into the marriage with them, that may be deemed their sole debt and not be subject to being allocated to the other spouse.
It is recommended that couples try to avoid leaving any joint debt still owing after their divorce is final. Even if a divorce decree stipulates responsibility for a debt to one spouse, the other person may still be pursued for repayment by the creditor if their name remains on the account. This is true for credit cards, mortgages or other types of debt.