As you go through a divorce, you will continually address questions related to property division. While many people focus on assets, such as their home, cars and retirement accounts, some overlook the fact that debt also comes into play.
If you have any type of credit card debt, this will come to the forefront during divorce proceedings. There are things you can do to stop this type of debt from dragging you down:
— Do your best to leave your marriage in the past without any joint credit card debt.
— Consider the benefits of dividing the debt on joint cards and transferring the appropriate balance to a card in each person’s name.
— Cancel any joint credit cards with zero balance to avoid future spending.
— Make it clear as to which party will pay which credit card debt.
— Keep detailed records of expenses after you split so that you can show what you are responsible for when the time comes.
— Don’t delay in filing court documentation regarding joint credit card debt.
If you are lucky, you won’t have any credit card debt in divorce. However, since credit card use is so common, this is not always the case.
Dealing with credit card debt at any time can be a stressful process. Add a divorce to the equation and you are sure to be faced with a variety of additional challenges.
As long as you know your options for dealing with this debt, you can make informed decisions that allow you to be comfortable with the financial decisions being made.
Source: CreditCards.com, “Dividing credit card debt in divorce,” accessed Dec. 04, 2015
