No you won't have to pay his debt unless you are a cosigner on his debts. In Colorado, getting married does not mean that you become responsible for your spouse's debt.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 9/14/2011

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No his debt is not your debt. He should file though prior to your marriage otherwise your joint income will be used to determine his ability to file Chapter 7 and/or payment plan in a Chapter 13.

Answer Applies to: Utah
Replied: 9/13/2011

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You should wait to get married after the bankruptcy is finalized just to keep things clean.

Answer Applies to: Indiana
Replied: 9/13/2011

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Unless you have co-signed or otherwise acted as a guarantor for your finance's debts, then you would not be liable for them.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/13/2011

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You will not be responsible for his debt if you had nothing to do with it. If you co-signed on anything or if you signed a charge receipt and your name was on ths credit card, you could be held liable. Check with your, or his, bankruptcy attorney.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 9/13/2011

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The bankruptcy code allows a married individual to file jointly or separately. So long as none of the debt is also in your name, you aren't required to file for bankruptcy just because your husband has chosen to do so. However, your income will be taken into account in the initial determination of whether he must file a Chapter 7 (full forgiveness of debt) or a Chapter 13 (monthly payments on a percentage of the debt for 3 -5 years) petition. Depending on his income level, it may be beneficial for him to file before you get married.

Answer Applies to: Massachusetts
Replied: 9/13/2011

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There is a doctrine that spouses can be held responsible for each other's deaths. But you guys are not married. Unless your fianc's debts are also yours I think you have nothing to worry about. You should talk to your fianc's attorney about this.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 9/13/2011

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You marriage relationship does not make you liable for his debts.

Answer Applies to: Michigan
Replied: 9/13/2011

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I would probably wait, otherwise you will have to account for your income and expenses (because they are part of the "household" once you are married. Be sure that you are aware that if you have any joint credit, credit in both your names, that you realize you will be solely liable for it once he files bankruptcy. Good Luck!

Answer Applies to: Michigan
Replied: 9/13/2011

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No if you dont have joint debt his bankruptcy will not affect you at all. The only thing you may want to look at is when you are married your income counts towards his bankruptcy to see if he qualifies for a chapter 7 or the amount that will be paid back in a chapter 13. You may want to consult an attorney to discuss his best options.

Answer Applies to: Florida
Replied: 9/13/2011

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No You can not be held responsible for his debt, even if you are married, unless you co-signed or are contractually responsible for the debt in your own right. If you get married or share expenses before he files, that might affect his eligibility and your income will need to be reported in his bankruptcy and included in calculating his eligibility. That does not make you responsible for his debt or subject you to loss of your income or property.

Answer Applies to: Michigan
Replied: 9/12/2011

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A chapter 7 should not be a problem. A chapter 13 could create some income issues. Your fiance needs to discuss the situation with his attorney.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/12/2011

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You will not be liable for his debts but there are other isssues, such as having to declare your income in the petition, which usually favor waiting to get married at least until after filing. This is something that needs to be discussed at a consultation with an attorney.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/12/2011

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You will not absorb your fiance's debt upon marriage unless you cosigned for/with him.

Answer Applies to: Mississippi
Replied: 9/12/2011

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You marry your fiancee, not his debts. Nevertheless he should seriously consider filing for bankruptcy before getting married, since the marriage can adversely affect his filing.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 9/12/2011

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Assuming you have not guaranteed or co-signed for any of his debt, the simple fact that you are married will not bind you to pay your husband's debts. So, unless you are already co-obligated for some of his debts, you will not be responsible.

Answer Applies to: Massachusetts
Replied: 9/12/2011

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You will not be held responsible for his debts. However there are other issues such as having to calculate your income to determine if he qualifies for Chapter 7 if your are married while he is in bankruptcy, so to be safe he should file and finish up before you get married. Also, he will have no credit for a while which can affect renting (if he is a tenant and even if you do not use his income to qualify to rent) and car purchases on credit, and you cannot use his income to qualify for a house for probably 5 years.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/12/2011

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Legally speaking, you are NOT responsible for our fiances pre-marital debt. Thus, when he files bankruptcy to wipe out his debt, the creditors cannot come after you. The one exception is this: fiance opens credit-card while single, HOWEVER, states he is married and puts down your name and social security number. (Odd, but this DOES happen.) In such a case, the creditor would have no way to know that this was premarital debt and may attempt to come after you. Technically speaking, if you were married and it was community debt, the debt would be completely discharged during the bankruptcy. Thus, if married, and he filed bankruptcythe debt would be completely gone and the creditors would not be allowed to come after you.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/12/2011

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You won't be held responsible for his debt, particularly if he's filing ch. 7. It will be over soon.

Answer Applies to: Virginia
Replied: 9/12/2011

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If you are not yet married and your future spouse is filing bankruptcy, this will mean that you will not be liable on the filer's debts.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/12/2011

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You generally don't have to pay his debts, but you need a lawyer to (1) draft a good prenuptial agreement and (2) advise you on how to keep your assets and finances separate from his.

Answer Applies to: Georgia
Replied: 9/12/2011

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In Minnnesota the Answer is No. Minnesota has a statute that says a spouse is not responsible for the other spouse's debts except 1) Debts for necessary medical services provided while they were together, and 2) debts incurred solely for household purposes. The same law also provides that either spouse can close a joint account.

Answer Applies to: Minnesota
Replied: 9/12/2011

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In California, there is separate property and community property. Separate property is what you owned before marriage, and what you receive as gifts or inheritances, and keep in your separate name. Community property is anything you earn while married and living together. Community property is liable for the debts of either spouse, before or during marriage. Separate property is liable only for the debts of the spouse to which it belongs. Thus once you are married, if you earn income that income will be liable for your spouse's debts. However, if you have, say a savings account that has only money in it that you earned prior to marriage, then that savings account, so long as you keep it in your separate name and do not put your spouse's name on it, and the interest it earns, will not be liable for your spouse's debts. It will be cleaner if you wait until he files bankruptcy, because then there can be no question about the premarital creditors trying to get you to pay.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/12/2011

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You are not responsible for the debt of another person unless you sign documents obligating yourself to pay the debt. Whether you are married or not, if you never signed documents agreeing to pay the debt, you are not liable on the debt.

Answer Applies to: Alabama
Replied: 9/12/2011

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Debts acquired prior to marriage, is separate property.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/12/2011

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