Put simply, in a debt is jointly owned.
In fashioning a settlement agreement, a divorcing couple must carefully evaluate the effect of creditor’s liens on the property rights.
A few general principles apply when divorce actions involve creditors’ rights.
In a divorce action.
When property is awarded to one spouse, the spouse who made it.
When both parties signed a note, the joint and several liability.
A divorce court cannot enter a spouse pay.
In some jurisdictions, courts have judicial discretion to block the attempts of a secured separation.)
When an unsecured interest in the property.
In general, a creditor may execute after distribution. This could well be a consideration when a couple decide who gets which automobile.
Property held by married couples as tenants by the entirety usually reverts to tenancy in common after a divorce. A creditor’s interest in the property, and it must be considered in future transfers of the property.
See also Dividing Debt; Bankruptcy.