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What happens to your joint credit cards when you divorce?

On Behalf of | Nov 7, 2022 | Property Division

The property division process in an Ohio divorce isn’t just about your most valuable assets. It also requires that you address your financial obligations, such as credit card debt. Many married couples share lines of credit, with each spouse having their own authorized card and making charges against the same line of credit.

It can be very difficult for those married for years to separate their financial responsibilities in an Ohio divorce. What happens to your credit cards during divorce?

You or the courts have to divide those debts

It is common for the person who files for divorce to file paperwork to freeze or close joint lines of credit early in the divorce process. This will prevent one spouse from intentionally making wasteful charges so that their spouse has to help pay for those purchases later.

You will need to divide the balances you owe or consider them when making other property division choices. The two of you will either need to negotiate a solution for dividing your credit cards or ask a judge to split them up in a fair manner along with your other obligations and assets.

Until your spouse either pays an account off or refinances the balance, you could still end up held responsible for the balance owed despite a property division order from the Ohio family courts making your ex the one who should pay the account. In other words, you do have some financial risk when your ex is the one who will pay off certain accounts.

Understanding the Ohio approach to dividing marital debt and the concerns about the process could help you reach the best solution for your property division matters.