An impasse over carriage rights fees may result in a blackout of Comcast SportsNet Chicago for Dish Network subscribers beginning next month, potentially cutting off Chicago Bulls and Blackh...
Your options There are several options for handling joint credit card debt. Which one you employ depends on the state of your relationship with your spouse. One way to be sure that no more joint debt is run up is to cancel all joint cards, says Lynn Gold-Bikin, chairman of the family law department at WolfBlock, a Norristown, Pa., law firm specializing in family issues. "Cancel all the cards you're aware of and put them in your own name, " she says. "That way, you protect yourself from having more debt run up. You can resolve the question of how much your spouse is responsible for in equitable distribution. " Equitable distribution is one of the last phases in the divorce process under which the distribution of marital assets and debts to each partner is finalized. Gold-Bikin recommends filing documentation with the court about the joint credit cards and the debt owed on them early in the separation to get it on the record, which is another way to prevent your spouse from running up debt that you might ultimately have to pay.
Before the ECOA, a woman often faced roadblocks when she tried to establish credit in her own name. [ii] Under the ECOA, a creditor is prohibited from discriminating against an applicant on the basis of gender or marital status (among other things). In New York and other equitable distribution states, creditors may not inquire about marital status if an applicant is applying for separate, unsecured credit. In community property states, creditors may ask about marital status even if an applicant is applying for separate, unsecured credit. Across the board, regardless of whether a couple lives in a community property or equitable distribution state, creditors may make such inquiries if the credit is secured by property – such as a home mortgage – or if spouses are seeking joint credit. Whether the credit is separate or joint, secured or unsecured, creditors may not discriminate on the basis of gender or marital status when deciding to extend credit. In addition, the ECOA requires credit card issuers to provide a nondiscriminatory reason for denying credit and credit increases, singling out a particular creditor for negative changes in the terms of his credit, or refusing to extend credit under the same or approximately the same terms as were put forth when the application was made.
The specific way that a divorce court will handle and divide debts during the divorce proceedings may depend on the state where you live. If the state that you live in follows community property laws, any debts that you or the other spouse incurred after marriage but before separation or divorce is called "community property" or "community debt". This means that both spouses will be equally liable on the debt. However, in such states, debts that are acquired before the marriage or after the divorce or separation are not considered community debts. These will then be assigned separately to each individual spouse who acquired the debt. Note: For reference, nine states are classified as community property states. These are: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. The remaining states may follow varying types of marital property rules. For non-community property states, the debt may be divided according to a number of "equitable distribution" principles and factors.