Legal Question in Family Law in California
My ex an I are in a middle of a divorce. We owe about $20k in back taxes. I've been paying the installments on the balance. When the divorce is finalized does that balance essentially get divided in two for each of us to "own"? Ideally, I'd like to pay off my portion but will I ultimately be responsible for the entire amount from federal standpoint?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The Family Law Court can order allocation of debts and liabilities between you, but it cannot order any creditor, especially the tax man, to release one of the spouses from a joint liability. So the judge can order each of you to pay half the balance, but if one of you doesn't, the tax man can come after the other one or both. The innocent spouse would then have to go back to Family Court to have the defaulting spouse held in contempt of court and ordered to pay reimbursement.