Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

Re: husband being sued

Q1: Are you liable for his debt before marriage? Depends what you mean by liable. If you mean can the creditor take your bank account money, the answer is yes, unless you show that only your wages have been deposited in that account. If your husband ever drove you to work or assisted you in any way in your employment, then the account can be taken.

Q2: If you divorce him and then he files bankruptcy are you liable for his court case debts? If you mean the debt that was assigned to him in the divorce judgment, probalby not, so long as your name is not on any of the accounts assigned to him. However, there is some case law that indicates that a divorce judgement can be considered a fraudulent conveyance, especially if it is entered into by stipulation and it is wholly one-sided; i.e. if your husband gets all the debt, and in exchange, you get all the assets, that would be considered a fraudulent conveyance and the bankruptcy trustee would take your assets away from you.

Re: husband being sued

I'm not sure to what "court case debts" you're referring.

Premarital debts would be his debts alone. However, a judgment debtor can go after joint bank accounts because his name would be on them. I hope that his delinquency is not causing you to consider divorce. You might suggest that he enter financial management counseling which is a requirement during a bankruptcy, anyway.

Re: husband being sued

If a creditor obtains a judgment against your husband, the creditor can go after your husband's interest in any jointly owned property.

You do not necessarily need to divorce your husband for him to file bankruptcy. Contact a local bankruptcy to determine if any of your assets would be sold if your husband filed for bankruptcy.