Legal Question in Family Law in California
Fair Debt Settlement
My wife and I have many debts that include; her credit card, my student loan, our house, her car (my truck is paid for) and a few other miscellaneous department store credit cards. The two of us have agreed that we will either sell the house or who ever lives there will be responsible for paying the house payment. But we don't agree on the rest of the debt. My student loans equal as much as the car payment and the credit card. All debts were accrued during our marriage. I thought that it would be fair for me to take my student loans and for her to take the car and credit card. Would that hold up in court?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Fair Debt Settlement
Being that I am married and still have some outstanding student loan debt that was acquired during my marriage, I understand that what I am about to tell you does not seem fair, but the law is the law. unfortunately, student loans are the seperate property of the student, even if the loans were acquired during the marriage. Therefore, you will be solely resposible for the student loans and most likely 1/2 of the other community debt. Have you started your divorce?, are you and your wife trying to handle it yourselves? -- Please feel free to give me a call if you wish to talk to me in greater detail about your situation, I would be happy to talk with you.
Michael Burt
(213)384-2220
Re: Fair Debt Settlement
Mr. Burt's reply was correct as far as it went. More accurately, there is a rebuttable presumption that the community did not benefit from the education if the education was received within 10 years of the divorce. "Rebuttable" being the operative word. There is also a rebuttable presumption that the community did benefit if the education was more than 10 years before the divorce.
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