Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
How much of my ex's debt am I liable for?
On 5/25/04 I discovered that my wife was cheating on me. We were supposed to be moving from Virginia to California the following week, but I ended up going by myself. I did not file for divorce right away because I was hoping we could get back together. In Aug. 2004, she told me she was pregnant by her new boyfriend. In Oct. 2004 I received a letter informing me that she was moving to ''somewhere in Florida'' with her new boyfriend. That's the last I've heard from her. When we seperated, the cars were paid off and the credit cards were at zero. Since then, I have learned that she's max'd out her credit cards and defaulted on them, co-signed 2 car loans for her boyfriend and had both of them repossesed and skipped on several other debts. All together, she has put herself in defaulted debt between $60,000 & $70,000.
I filed for a divorce in California last month, but I've been told that her creditors may be able to come after me for the debts she incurred after our seperation? I've also been told that in some states, I may be liable for child support because we were married when she got pregnant? I'm also wondering if property that I acquire after the divorce is final will be in danger from the debts she's defaulted on?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: How much of my ex's debt am I liable for?
Of course since you've filed your divorce in California, that state's laws would control, not Virginia's. However, most domestic laws are similiar so I will answer as if Virginia law applied.
Since you don't know where to find her the only way to have her served is by publication which is the running of an ad in a newspaper of national circulation for four weeks. The bad part about divorce by publication is you can't litigate any issue of money with the judge without both parties present.
However your fact scenario asks what of her debt accumulated since the separation is your legal responsibility and the potential for child support for her boyfriend's baby.
First "marital debt" is classified as any debt accumulated during the marriage. So is her debt marital debt? Probably yes but only if it related to a marital concern. Obviously anything having to do with her boyfriend or his baby is not a marital concern once it is proven the baby is not yours. Marital debt could be however her rent, car note, living expenses. However, proving that they were incurred for reasons which were not necessary would be your defense and in fairness the judge probably wouldn't saddle you with them.
In Virginia there is a presumption that any child concieved during the marriage is the child of the father. This, however, is a rebuttable presumption. In Virginia you may ask for DNA analysis to dtetermine questionable parentage. The liklihood is that you would do just that if she attempted to collect from you and once it was determined you were not the biological father, her petition for support would be denied.
good luck.
Re: How much of my ex's debt am I liable for?
Answers:
Ques. #1 Since you apparently had no formal property settlement agreement in place, it's possible that you could be held liable for debts incurred by your wife during the course of the marriage, including the time period during which you were separated.
Ques. #2: Possible but not too likely.
Ques. #3: If a creditor were to obtain a valid court judgment against you for debt incurred by your wife, the judgment could conceivably be enforced against any of your assets, including property which you later acquired even after the marriage was dissolved.
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