Legal Question in Family Law in California

Smart move to close the account right away. Once a divorce is filed and served it is technically a contempt of the automatic restraining orders to continue to use a joint account anyway.

All assets and debts of the community will have to be divided, either by agreement, or if you can't agree by a court trial. Either way, each of you should wind up with half the net worth of the marriage. It's usually easier if you can each take full responsibility for a particular debt rather than splitting an account in half. For example if that $20K is on more than one card you could each take some of the accounts to pay off, with a small equalizing payment. So say you have $9k on one and $11k on another. The person who takes the $9k card to pay off would owe the other $1,000. Or if you have $20k all on one card, but other assets, such as $30K in an IRA or 401K, one takes the debt and $25K of the retirement account and the other one takes $5,000 out of the retirement account. That way after the debt is paid you each get $5k.

Of course the more cards, car, loans, cars, and accounts you have the more complicated this gets. But the bottom line is to divide up the assets and debts so that if you take the assets you each get, and subtract the debts each one takes on, the remaining number is basically the same.

As for what happens if she doesn't pay the debts she agrees or is ordered to be responsible for, you are still on the hook as between the creditor and you, but you will be entitled to use the contempt power of the court to force her to reimburse you for any payments you might be forced to make that she was responsible for.

You should get an experience family law attorney. Contact me directly.