How does the court divide debt in a divorce?

On Behalf of | Jan 24, 2023 | Property Division |

When dividing property in a divorce, the court will also look at your debts. The division of debt is similar to the division of assets.

Texas law outlines how a court must handle debt division. In most cases, it is subject to the same rules as assets.

Community vs separate

The court will determine if a debt is one of both spouses or just one spouse. Doing this will require evidence to show the status of the debt. Ideally, you will be able to prove debts belong only to your spouse so that you do not take on the liability. That can be difficult to do, especially if you benefited in any way from the incurring of the debt.

General rules

Generally, you will each maintain the debts that you had coming into the marriage. You will also be equally liable for debts incurred on community property assets. Furthermore, any debts incurred as part of a legal matter involving only one spouse remain the responsibility of that spouse.

Other notes

Approaching debt in a divorce can be tricky. You do not want to end up stuck with paying for the debts your spouse incurred. But the court can only make proper divisions as long as you provide evidence you had no benefit from the debt and it was completely separate property. So, you will need to keep this in mind in situations where your spouse has a lot of debt that you do not wish to become responsible for after the divorce.

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