When you get married, is your new spouse responsible for your old debt?
My best friend has been engaged for over a year to a man she has been in a serious relationship with for over five years. They recently got into an arguement over when they would be getting married because she has outstanding student loans and credit card bills, etc. he says that when they get married, if the bills aren’t resolved, the lenders could come after him for the balances. She pays on them, but he says the bills would affect his credit and does not want to get married before they are settled. My question is Can they come after him for the balances?
P.S. Thanks for all the help!
Generally speaking, the other answers are correct (although to what extent depends on your state’s community property laws).
That being said, some of his concern is valid. Generally in community property states, a creditor cannot go after a spouse’s “separate property” to collect on the debtor spouse’s debts. However, a creditor can often go after community funds/property that are jointly managed.
Also, as other answers indicate, a creditor can generally go after either spouse’s separate or joint property to collect on a joint debt.
The bills would likely only affect his credit to the extent they tried to get joint credit (where they do an income / debt ratio calculation), but should not affect his individual credit.
If he really wants to get married, then they should be able to visit an astute financial planner or attorney to advise them of steps they need to take to prevent his concern coming to light.
