How Does The Marital Debt Get Divided Between Husband and Wife in a Florida Divorce ?

In this bad economic time, the husband and wife going through a divorce worry about how the marital debt gets split up (credit cards, medical bills, mortgages, etc.).

Florida Statute 61.075 gives your judge a basic guideline as to how marital debt should be divided. The Florida divorce judge has to balance the husband and wife’s ability to pay, what type of assets they own, and what kind of debts exist. The Florida divorce judge has descretion as to how to divide up assets and assign liabilities to the husband and wife. As a starting point, the Florida divorce judge will split the assets and liabilities equally. This is just a starting point. The Judge will then consider the income of each party, earning ability of each party, education of each party, lifestyle of the parties during the marriage, and many other factors. If there is a disparity between the income of the husband and the income of the wife, there is a good probability that the division of assets and liabilities will not be split equally.

Generally, when it comes to secured debts like the house and mortgage or the car and its loan, whomever gets the property is responsible for the continuing payments. Of course, that is subject to other considerations like money available to each party or alimony awards. Again, the Florida Judge will consider various economic factors of the marriage and each party as well as the future earning ability of each party.

At times, the division of marital debt is a complicated issue. At Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A., not only are there divorce attorneys covering the areas of Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine and Orange Park, there are tax and bankruptcy attorneys who can answer any issue that may arise. Contact Wood, Atter, & Wolf, P.A. if you have any issues regarding divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosures, garnishments or other problem that we may be able to help.