Legal Question in Family Law in Montana

One of the first answers we learned in law school is "It depends." You've asked a very general question for which no satisfactory answer exists. It depends. On your incomes, your physical limitations, who acquired the debt, etc. But you said you're legally separated, so I'll tell you a bit about that.

When parties formally separate, typically one of them files a petition for legal separation to set out financial obligations, child care obligations, etc. The other party can respond with another proposal. Ultimately, the court issues an order setting out the parties' rights and responsibilities.

If the parties simply stopped living together without a written agreement, then your questions are unresolved until you or the court decides.

In either case, you and your wife still have a lot of control in the outcome of your dissolution. Sit down and talk about those issues. If each of you is represented, you can ask your attorneys to set up a settlement conference so you can talk and negotiate an agreement. If neither of you is represented, you can hire a mediator to help you navigate through the issues.

If you can't come to an agreement to present to the court, both of you will be presenting testimony in court and handing to the judge the obligation to decide. The judge will be as fair and logical about it as possible but parties might not be as happy with the outcome as if they had tried to resolve it out of court.