Many people divorce each year and along with their marital assets they also divide up marital debt. Some of that debt might be individual debt, but most often times there is also joint debt. Problems sometimes develop when the party who is ordered to pay the debt defaults. The real problem arises when the other party gets a call from the creditor demanding payment.

Creditors, who are not a party to a divorce, do not care what a divorce decree says about the parties obligation to pay certain debts. That is because the decree, or court order, is only issued to the divorcing couple. Consequently, the creditor could care less what the final decree has to say. If this happens to you, pay real close attention to this. If you ignore this situation, it could come back to bite you at a later point.

When this situation arises, there are only two options for the other spouse. They can pay the debt and seek to recover it from their spouse in some sort of supplemental divorce proceeding, or they can battle the creditor with one hand while they take their spouse back to court seeking a contempt citation. The creditor’s rights are rarely affected by a divorce decree. You should seek out an Indianapolis divorce attorney if you have questions.

By: Bryan L. Cook