Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New Jersey

Not exactly. If the creditor sues to collect, they can only sue your wife because the debts are an individual debt. However, if the creditor obtains a judgment against her, it can collect that judgment in several ways one of which is to levy against bank accounts in your joint names. � If a joint bank account is levied the funds will be frozen at least to the extent of the judgment. If you can then show that all of the money in that account came from you and should not be considered as 1/2 belonging to her, the judge will vacate the levy. However, if the funds are mixed, a judge will not sort it out and the creditor will get the money. So, if your wife has a large amount of debt in her own name, joint bank accounts are not a good idea. � See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

If you get divorced, you can be forced to pay back some of her debt.