As common sense and statistics tell us, the leading cause of marital discord is money. Therefore, it is not surprising that many times divorce inventories have more red numbers than black ones.

Media sources often portray Hollywood stars of “power couples” divorcing. Included with the typical hype may be which party will get the mansion, vacation home, or car collection, but rarely is there any coverage about how the parties will divide debt.

The hard truth is that debt, just like assets, are included in the community estate. No matter what your own moral compass may register regarding your and your spouse’s debt, Texas case law establishes rules that might surprise you. First, debt incurred during the marriage is presumed to be community debt. See Cockerham v. Cockerham, 527 S.W.2d 162, 171 (Tex. 1975). There must be a sufficient amount of evidence to rebut this presumption.

Despite well established case law, Texas divorce decrees contain sections entitled “Debt to Husband” and “Debt to Wife”, which seemingly assign responsibility for each debt. These sections of the decree will identify each creditor, the account number, and account balance. At the close of the divorce proceedings, the divorced couple has a lengthy document called a final decree of divorce. The husband, wife, their attorneys, and the judge sign the final decree. Often times the parties order a certified copy of their divorce decree, throw it in a drawer or the safe deposit box, and rarely look at it again unless there are children and custody issues involved.

It may be months or years later when the phone rings and one of the parties is greeted by the monotone utterances of a bill collector reading a script off the computer screen. The dialogue may go something like this:

Bob the Bill Collector: “This is Bob with XYZ Visa. I’m calling because your account is 60 days past due, and I need to know when you plan to remit the past due amount and begin making payments.”

You: “What are you talking about? That’s my ex’s account. Our divorce decree says so. I haven’t been married to him/her in over (whatever time frame)! Call that deadbeat for the money.”

Bob: “Well, Mr. or Ms. So and So, that doesn’t mean you don’t owe the debt if your ex defaults.”

You: “I have a certified court order signed by me, my ex, our attorneys, and the judge saying that I don’t owe you anything for that account. That account is the ex’s problem. When you find him/her, let me know because he/she owes me money, too!”

Bob: “Your divorce decree might say you aren’t responsible, but the law says you are. Why don’t you give me a check by phone and we can get you on a payment plan.”

You: “Are you dense?! Did you hear anything I just said?! I’m not responsible and I’m not paying you one red cent on any of that debt. Call the ex but stop hounding me!”

Bob: “Mr. or Ms. So and So, I did hear you, and you’re wrong. No matter what your divorce decree says, you owe XYZ Visa. If you don’t begin making payments, XYZ Visa will report this delinquent account to the credit reporting agencies, and take action up to and including litigation.”

I’ll let you fill in the closing dialogue for yourself. You are angry and hang up the phone. You may think that Bob, located at some call center hundreds of miles away, has no idea what he’s talking about.

As unsettling as it may be, Bob is right. Unless the XYZ Visa was a party to your divorce suit and agreed to the terms of the final decree, you owe the money. It is highly unusual for a husband and wife or their attorneys to implead creditors into divorce actions due to complex legal issues such as jurisdiction and venue on both the state and federal level.

To understand how you could possibly be responsible for debt assigned to your ex, you must rewind to the point in time when the credit account was opened. You will need to look at the original account agreement. Almost no one keeps those documents, so order a copy of your credit report from one of the big three credit reporting agencies (EquiFax, Experian, or TransUnion). If the account shows up on your report, then you were more than likely a party to the credit agreement. Despite how the divorce decree allocates the debts (both secured and unsecured), the Court has no authority to modify the contractual obligations between the spouses and the creditor.

To say it another way, the court cannot take away the creditor’s right to proceed against either spouse(s) for payment of a community debt that was incurred prior to the decree. See Blake v. Amoco Fed. Credit Union, 900 S.W.2d 108 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.] 1995, no writ).

Let’s presume the account was originally opened in both your names and the creditor was looking to both you and your spouse’s income and assets to repay the obligation. This means that you are both responsible for the debt. But what about the divorce decree that spells out which assets and liabilities you and your ex were assigned? Is it a worthless piece of paper? No.

You will not be able to file a motion to enforce the divorce decree to get the defaulting spouse to pay the debt. An enforcement action will only assist if there was specific property, such as a vehicle, brokerage account, or personal property, the other spouse failed to turn over. But what about the debt? All is not lost. You could file an action for breach of contract against the defaulting spouse. The divorce decree is a binding contract that both parties voluntarily signed before the court.

If your ex has defaulted on one or multiple obligations, a suit for breach of contract may be cold comfort. As the old saying goes, you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip. Nevertheless, if you pursue this option, your damages may include any money you agreed to pay the creditor to keep the account out of collections, interest, and other miscellaneous expenses, such as attorney’s fees if any are incurred.

Depending on the size of the debt that the defaulting party hasn’t paid, you could seek relief in small claims court. Texas small claims courts have jurisdiction from $0.01 up to $5,000.00. These courts are designed for individuals who want to represent themselves and avoid hiring an attorney. This is where people go to argue the “do right” law. However, if the amount in controversy is greater than $5,000.00, then you must file suit in a county court, county court at law, or a district court with jurisdiction over the matter. At this point, you may consider hiring an attorney to prosecute the claim if there’s a reasonable possibility you could collect from the defaulting spouse. If possible, never let things get to this point by utilizing some of the suggestions outlined below.

Before you go to court or sign the final decree of divorce, you should research each and every account that the decree references no matter if that account falls under the “Husband” or “Wife” section. You both need to be aware how the accounts were established, and who and what the creditor deems liable. It may be in your best interests to refinance jointly held debt and establish the debt in each individual’s name if that is possible. If you or your spouse’s credit score is not strong enough to take this route, then you may consider liquidating assets to repay the debt before the divorce is final and close the account. It will be cold comfort to pay off a debt only to find out that your ex ran up a bunch of charges. A method may be to sell a car, a house, real property, or take a 401-K loan prior to finalizing the divorce to pay off debt. Because a mortgage and car loan can have long terms of payments, it may behoove you to sell those assets and let the other party acquire them on his or her own credit. By paying off those assets, those will no longer appear as debts on your credit report or create potential future problems if the other party fails to make payments to the creditor.

After your divorce is final, you may consider taking these actions:

1. Closing all joint accounts with a low balance or zero balance.

2. Request a credit report from one of the big three credit reporting agencies 90 days after the divorce is final. Look for any errors or discrepancies and aggressively challenge them in writing.

3. Ask each creditor to send you a duplicate notice for the joint accounts – even if the ex was assigned this account. Monitor to ensure that payments are being made on a regular, timely basis.

4. Make an offer for accord and satisfaction – basically, offer the creditor an amount of money in exchange for a release of your liability on the account assigned to your ex.

5. Communicate with the big three credit reporting agencies to notify them of the divorce and any name changes.

6. Create a debt reduction plan. There are many excellent resources available, such as Consumer Credit Counseling Services, Dave Ramsey, or a church based debt reduction plan.

Bottom line – your credit score is an asset just like your home or car. In fact, if you don’t have a good credit score, your ability to obtain consumer or business financing may be extremely limited.

Shannon Cavers is a Houston, Texas based lawyer practicing in divorce, family law and probate. More information and articles can be found at: Houston Divorce Lawyer

Shannon Cavers
http://www.articlesbase.com/divorce-articles/divorce-and-debt-98096.html

Related Blogs

• Related Blogs on Divorce and Debt

Personally I have 7 children 6 boys 1 girl, ranging from 9 to 25 and most of them are in their teens, we own every Nintendo system and nothing but. It’s hard to afford even the WII, let alone find one, so we thought waiting for a year.

We could get one for them next year, so we will wait to read the gossip reviews and facts going around.

We have also loved and recommend the type of games SONY has put out for years and years, they produce a good variety. These are the sort of kid games the kids really want. Having said that, it is true that Nintendo does have fabulous games. I’ll go even further Nintendo has games that we almost cannot live with out!

The classics are Zelda, Mario and the like, Shooters, and sports, and SONY undeniably has the top Kid games, of role playing, great shooters, etc. I could go on and on.

I enjoyed some unusual board games or vintage kid games which we played as a kid, but, in my opinion, none can match the shear power of enjoyment kids get now from the top computer game creators.

There is more and more use of games to put across important messages to kids. Some “keep them safe” type kid games are available that have been designed for tweens and teens. They are full blown actual computer games that take kids through the experience of being hood-winked by internet predators.

The reason that such a large investment has been put inot such games is so that kids can learn to recognize the signs and avoid the real thing.

The many kid games we have bought in our family can be categorized under various groups such as representations of indoor games, outdoor games, card games, board games, and even turing full circle some even imitate role playing in computer games, etc.

The outdoor kid games programs tend to include hyper-physical activities such as running, swimming, jumping , etc. All the kid games we like are set up to be user-friendly so that children can earn lots of little rewards.

Now turning away from computer kid games lets talk of some games which we play for real!

Choose two teams with an even number of kids on each team, line up half of them from each team at each end. Designate a starting line and a finish line about 10 feet away. Give each team a straw and a ping-pong ball. The winning team must work in relay to blow the ball back and forth, until there are no more relay members left. The first to finish is the winning team.

Children want to be entertained, not patronized by their kid games. And, going back to computer games, from a character design standpoint, at least Sonic was blue.

Children are not children for very long and the game company that ignores their future spending power does so at it’s own peril. The problem I detect is that the games companies are focusing to much on the biggest market, and on older geek players. Why can’t a gaming console cater better for the development of our children, teens and adults. Big games creating companies should do better. Not just line up all their output for high spending sad, spotty geeks who have nothing else to do.

Child play games, if they are to be successful in allowing your inner child to become visible to you and others, often need to be simple, silly, frivolous, childish, light and airy. The reduction of stress and anxiety in our lives requires that we relax, lighten up and become less serious and intense.

Nintendo is for children. The children are the future. OK. Nintendo is a business, and it needs to make a profit, fine. But while selling better games fo well balanced and intelligent children they do not need to completely abandon every single hardcore gamer.

I have seen Nintendo’s business development and products over the years. They must have made very many blunders in the past years including now bringing out a even smaller Gameboy advance, yet they have the Gameboy SP and a Gameboy DS out as well. Also, just because Nintendo says that you can download games from every one of 20 years from its library, this doesn’t mean that they will be all be good games.

Lucky for us their all time greatest titles are all available for the Game Boy Advance!

Steve Evans
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/kid-games-a-parents-view-698299.html

So you are saying stop my Divorce. Well that’s easy to say but there are a lot of factors to be considered before this can happen. What brought you to this point? What can you do to make things different? And I always look at both sides so you really need to ask yourself if this is really what you want.

Don’t get me wrong I absolutely do not advocate divorce. I advocate doing the right thing. In fact I wish more people would ask to stop my divorce. With the divorce rate hovering about 50% that tells me that divorce is too easy to get without any effort going back into the relationship.

Too many people think the relationship will be a long standing honeymoon and don’t account for what the future may hold. Bills, children, housing, job loss, security, and 100 other things that lead people to asking for help to stop my divorce. Maybe we should be saying stop my wedding if these issues are not addressed ahead of time. Maybe we need more education before allowing two people to marry.

Now I am not just saying this for an article. I have been married over 20 years and let me tell you there were times when I wondered if I would be asking someone to stop my divorce. The key is we never gave up and always talked things out. That’s the major problem in most relationships these days. There is absolutely no communication.

Before you get to the point of asking someone to stop my divorce take a long hard look at what got you there and try stopping it on your own. If I could offer one piece of advice that I think was and has been most prudent in my marriage is never go to bed angry even if it takes all night to make things right.

Debbie Mans
http://www.articlesbase.com/relationships-articles/stop-my-divorce-can-i-really-do-it-750286.html

In the United States, there are statistics that indicate that half of all marriages will end up in a divorce or legal separation. Often people do not differentiate between divorce and legal separation. Both divorce and legal separation refer to the situation when a couple decides not to live together anymore. But being separated is much different than being divorced.

What does legal separation mean? Legal separation generally refers to a court order which acknowledges that a couple is no longer living together and that all the issues regarding the marriage have been resolved. A legal separation generally means that both parties reached an agreement concerning child custody, child visitation, child support, spousal support or alimony, distribution of property, attorney fees, and personal conduct. However, in a legal separation both parties remain married to each other. Indeed spouses who are just legally separated are not allowed to marry another person.

Divorce, also known as a decree of dissolution of marriage, is also a court order but it is for the purpose to dissolve or terminate a marriage. Both parties are allowed to marry another person following a divorce since they have returned to an unmarried status. An annulment differs from a divorce on the ground that this process is meant at simply canceling a marriage.

What are the benefits of a legal separation? Legal separation often takes place when both parties prefer to stay married for religious reasons. That’s why legal separation is often coined catholic legal separation since it preserves the religious marriage. Legal separation is not only pursued for religious reasons, but also for tax reasons. Unlike a divorce, the non-custodial parent may be able to deduct from his/her income taxes spousal support payments. Some also prefer not to wait for the state statutory waiting period for termination of marital status. That’s one of the reasons why a legal separation is often pursued to set the parameters for dealing with one another while living separate and apart while keeping the married status, and leaving an opportunity for a reunion or resumption of marriage. However being legally separated is not a requirement before filing a divorce. In other words, a legal separation is not a prerequisite of the dissolution of a marriage or Divorce.

If you are considering a legal separation, divorce, or dissolution of marriage you would be wise to consult an attorney who can inform you legally about your particular divorce or legal separation matter.

© 2007 Child Custody Coach

Child Custody Coach supplies information, online materials, and coaching services to parents in the field of child custody, namely, divorce, child custody and visitation, child custody evaluations, 730 evaluations, parenting, and all issues related to child custody and divorce. “How to Win Child Custody – Proven Strategies that can Win You Custody and Save You Thousands in Attorney Cost!” is a unique child custody strategy guide written by The Custody Coach and made available by Child Custody Coach in an easy to read, understand, and apply E-Book format. Custody Match is an online consumer and family law attorney matching service to help you in your search for the right attorney for your divorce or child custody case. Custody Match can help you find the right family law attorney, divorce lawyer, or child custody attorney in your area.

Steven Carlson
http://www.articlesbase.com/divorce-articles/divorce-divorce-and-legal-separation-96010.html

Related Blogs

• Related Blogs on Divorce: Divorce and Legal Separation

• An Error Occurred

  Application error

  Exception information:

  Message: SQLSTATE[HY000]: General error: 1033 Incorrect information in file: ‘./lerna/site.frm’

  Stack trace:

  string(1483) "#0 /var/www/sites/lerna/library/Doctrine/Connection/Statement.php(253): Doctrine_Connection->rethrowException(Object(PDOException), Object(Doctrine_Connection_Statement))
  #1 /var/www/sites/lerna/library/Doctrine/Connection.php(1013): Doctrine_Connection_Statement->execute(Array)
  #2 /var/www/sites/lerna/library/Doctrine/Query/Abstract.php(1080): Doctrine_Connection->execute('SELECT s.id AS ...', Array)
  #3 /var/www/sites/lerna/library/Doctrine/Query/Abstract.php(1128): Doctrine_Query_Abstract->_execute(Array)
  #4 /var/www/sites/lerna/library/Doctrine/Query.php(262): Doctrine_Query_Abstract->execute(Array, 3)
  #5 /var/www/sites/lerna/application/Lerna/Link/Distribution.php(158): Doctrine_Query->fetchOne(Array, 3)
  #6 /var/www/sites/lerna/application/Lerna/Link/Distribution.php(19): Lerna_Link_Distribution->getNetworkSiteByUrl('http://www.idon...')
  #7 /var/www/sites/lerna/application/modules/api/controllers/LinkController.php(39): Lerna_Link_Distribution->getLinks(1, false)
  #8 /var/www/sites/lerna/library/Zend/Controller/Action.php(503): Api_LinkController->indexAction()
  #9 /var/www/sites/lerna/library/Zend/Controller/Dispatcher/Standard.php(285): Zend_Controller_Action->dispatch('indexAction')
  #10 /var/www/sites/lerna/library/Zend/Controller/Front.php(934): Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Standard->dispatch(Object(Zend_Controller_Request_Http), Object(Zend_Controller_Response_Http))
  #11 /var/www/sites/lerna/www/index.php(18): Zend_Controller_Front->dispatch()
  #12 {main}"
  

  Request Parameters:

  array(6) {
    ["module"] => string(3) "api"
    ["controller"] => string(4) "link"
    ["action"] => string(5) "index"
    ["format"] => string(4) "html"
    ["ref"] => string(79) "http://www.idontwanttotalktoex.com/divorce/divorce-divorce-and-legal-separation"
    ["tid"] => string(1) "1"
  }
  

Life sure is full of twists and turns, sometimes taking us in directions we never expected to go in. In the 1960’s, when I was born, little girls were groomed to depend on men for a fulfilling family life. Learning to cook, clean and be ladylike were the norm back then. Watching Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and other lovely Disney movies, we waited for our hadsome princes to come take us away. For me, that never happened. Looking fashionable and cooking gourmet meals for men just didn’t do it for me, somehow. I kept my figure, wore high heels and pretty dresses, had my hair done every eight weeks and did the whole Stepford Wife thing (I can make a kiler batch of cookies), but felt totally unfulfilled and worn out. My husband always found things to complain about, no matter what I did. I felt unappreciated and bored in the lifestyle I thought I’d wanted all along.

Marriage in itself is a fine institution for those for whom it worked out in. In my case, my marriage was disappointing, and a lesson in self-preservation. That picture-perfect husband of mine looked like he walked off a model’s runway somewhere, but behind that dazzling, pretty face was the heart of a cold, heartless, psychotic and dangerous monster. He morphed himself into an angry, dangerous drug and alcohol addict, after spending too much time with his womanizing, drunk friends. I Divorced him after enduring a roller coaster of problems, threats and his infidelities. Enough was enough. After trying to get him help, with no success, I realized he wasn’t going to get better, and concluded that if I valued my life, I had to go and not look back. His putting a knife to my throat was the last straw. That was ten years ago.

After my marriage ended, I was in my thirties, footloose and fancy free. Going out with my other single or divorced friends, we had a lot of fun going dancing, and out to restaurants together. We met up every week in downtown Cleveland high-class watering holes, then would go out to eat afterwards. Together, we visited places like Jamaica, Mexico and other exotic travel destinations, just for fun. I even lived in Mexico for two years, which was an adventure I’ll never forget. As time went on, one by one, my friends and I all started dating new men and saw each other less often. My next boyfriend lived in another city, and I moved there to be with him later on. Big mistake.

My last relationship lasted for two years to a compulsively lying, travelling salesman who it turned out had more ex-wives then he’d told me about. During his travels, he hooked up with women, and was eventually busted later, when I found phone numbers and makeup on his shirts. He had excuses for everything, but I learned he couldn’t be trusted and left. He freaked out and stabbed my hand with a fork as I moved out. He was put in jail and I got a restraining order out against him as I moved far away and never looked back. Good riddance.

A few years later, here I am, happily single and proud of it. My life is full and complete, and I’m happier now than I ever was as a girlfriend or wife. Why is it so wonderful to be alone, you may ask? For starters, if I want to date, I can, but I can go home to my own place afterwards. No worries about making dinner every night. I can and do, eat cereal for dinner, without ridicule. Captain Crunch is my favorite. My second childhood has arrived. I have the whole bed to myself (except for my cats, who sleep on my feet). If I want to take a trip, I just grab a friend and off we go. No long lectures about how that kind of thing is frivolous. I make enough money to live well, and do what I want.

Ok, so there are a few things about being single that aren’t easy. I have to clean the cat box, take out the trash and there was nobody to help me cope with a slipped disk in my back, which left me sleeping on the floor for weeks, due to the severe pain. No situation is perfect, and it would’ve been easier to have a partner to get through these things. But, I made it through my pre-concieved list of undesirable situations, and was stronger for it, later. Before, I was more dependent on men. Now, I choose not to be. I have no idea how to fix my own car, or hang something really heavy on the wall. So, handymen and mechanics are hired to help out with those. With practise, a workable system forms, making it easier to do all sorts of activities and chores oneself.

At this point in life, I date but only a little. My world is complete and I enjoy my solitude. If I want companionship, I call up friends or play with my pets. Animals are loving and make great companions. No, I’m not a crazy cat lady. Just one who likes to do things my way, and is much more sane and happy by being free to be myself. Men ask me out here and there, I enjoy their company but tell them that I am looking for just friends. Life taught me what works best for me. I like the unconditional acceptance of my pets, the ease of working from my home office, for my job. Nobody scolds me if I didn’t do the laundry and nobody forgets our anniversary. Every year I buy myself a gift at Valentines’ Day. I have no problem with this holiday. though some single people I know, dread it. Why dread it? It’s a celebration of love. I call my parents and tell them I love them, pet my pets, and talk to friends. Maybe, I go and get a latte at Starbucks. Life is good, and who knew being single could feel so good? I now “see the light”.

Ten years ago, I’d have said that anyone who felt like this had given up on life and love. I haven’t, not at all, my priorities have changed, though. Now, I can live out sort of a combination of midlife crisis and a second childhood, by watching movies like Shrek, Harry Potter and Finding Nemo without boring and annoying my remote control-obsessed ex, who would rather watch the stock market on CNBC twenty four hours a day. I can buy a nicer car that before, seemed totally unpractical to my previous life as our budget wouldn’t allow it. On holidays, I’m not stuck visiting his fighting relatives, and can sleep in or celebrate with those I want to be with. Selfish, maybe, but for the first time in my life, it feels good to think of myself instead of putting others first.

For anyone dreading being single, remember, it’s all in your head how to react to the situation. You can be miserable and lonely, or you can get out there and enjoy your life, do what you want to do and later settle down if you choose to. Things aren’t black and white, they’re grey. Who knows what life brings us. I go with the flow, and if someone worthwhile does happen into my life at some point, after checking his criminal history, maybe I’d settle down again. But for now, I’m having too much fun being me, living life to the fullest and working hard. I’m no longer dependent on anyone and it feels great. Freedom feels good. Do whatever works best for you, but the bottom line is, live a happy life. Make whatever situation you’re in work for you, too. Life is too short to be stuck in a relationship that makes you miserable.

Carolyn McFann
http://www.articlesbase.com/women’s-issues-articles/being-a-happily-single-and-independant-woman-after-leaving-a-bad-marriage-126030.html