Legal Question in Family Law in Michigan

Divorce and Debt

I am in a bad marriage and am considering divorce. However, there is a huge credit card debt. The account is in my husband's name and I am an authorized user. Will I be responsible for any of this debt? One of the reasons I am staying in this marriage is because I CANNOT AFFORD to pay this debt, or even contribute to paying it. I have been begging my husband for years for us to get professional help in all aspects, financial,etc. but he refuses.


Asked on 11/17/08, 7:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lesley Hoenig Lesley A. Hoenig, Attorney at Law

Re: Divorce and Debt

This is something you need to verify with your credit card company, but if you are merely an authorized user and not a co-debtor (ie equally liable for it) on the debt, then no you will not be personally liable. This would not stop the divorce court from ordering you to pay some of it (but this is based on your and his income and whether it was incurred as family debt, etc so I can't say how likely or unlikely it would be for that to happen). If you aren't 100% certain that you are only an authorized user, you might want to consider filing bankruptcy (preferably with the spouse so you can both walk away from the debt, but if he doesn't want to file, you can file on your own).

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Answered on 11/17/08, 11:17 am


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