I recently fielded a question from a prospective client concerned about how an ex-spouses bankruptcy would affect her. While married to her ex-husband, the prospective client incurred debt in both her and her husband’s name. The ex-husband notified her that he could no longer afford to make payments on a series of personal loans and a mortgage and had decided to file for bankruptcy. The prospective client called me to discuss how the bankruptcy filing would affect her rights. Unfortunately the news wasn’t good.

Forum contributor Steve Combs wrote a helpful post on this subject recently which I would suggest reading. As Steve points out, the key issue is whether the couple incurred joint debt. If debt is jointly held in both spouse’s names and only one spouse files, the non-filing spouse will be on the hook for the full amount of the debt. That’s right, if your ex-husband or wife files bankruptcy and you incurred debt together, the joint debt will become your responsibility alone.  Keep in mind that this scenario only applies if you and your ex have debts that you share. If your finances were kept seperate, a bankruptcy filing by an ex-spouse will not affect you in the same way.

John O’Connor