Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico
If my spouse borrowed money from someone and misspelled their Last name in the debt owed portion of the decree, can that be used against them if it goes uncorrected and the decree is signed?
1 Answer from Attorneys
If you were married and unless otherwise specified at the time the debt was created, the debt is community property. The decree will determine which of you is entitlted to receive the money as between the two of you. However the decree has no effect on the borrower, he/she still owes the debt to you both and must pay one or both of you. Misspelling his/her name in the decree will have no effect on the debt itself, and as long as it is clear who the person was (assuming it was simple spelling error and not the wrong name, say), it will not affect the assignement of debt in the MSA. If you really want to change it you can submit a corrected MSA before the Judge signs the decree, or you and you wife can both sign a document specifying what the error was and file it with the court.