You Do Have Recourse
While your creditors don’t care who was assigned a debt in a divorce,
the courts certainly do. And you can take your former spouse back to court
for not paying a debt that was assigned to him or her.
That’s what Faith Geyer did when her ex-husband, Dennis Geyer, failed
to pay—as directed—on their joint Chase Bank credit card account.
At the time of the divorce, Faith and Dennis had two credit card accounts
with Chase. Dennis had opened an individual account in May 2001; and the couple
had opened a joint account several years earlier. At the time of the divorce,
Faith had removed Dennis’ name from the joint account. But the court
assigned the debt to Dennis.
He didn’t pay, which is why the former couple wound up back in court.
Dennis insisted that he shouldn’t have to pay for debt he did not create.
But the court was clear on this matter:
The trial court is provided with broad discretion in deciding what
is equitable upon the facts and circumstances of each case.
While Dennis did not have to pay for any debt Faith amassed after the divorce,
he was ordered to pay the $1,227.75 that had been the outstanding balance
at the time of the decision.
Next: A Better Way
to Break Up |
