Divorce Source: Divorce Checklists: Debt and Divorce

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Debt and Divorce (Checklist)

Information Provided by: Divorce Source, Inc.

High living and the ensuing debt wreck marriages. When a couple lives beyond its means, sooner or later, money worries and finance woes assault a marriage. This simple test comes from Consumer Credit Counseling. If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you should take a closer look at your finances. If you answer yes to four or more, you are probably in financial trouble. This is a good test for people to take before they marry and for them to take together from time to time after they marry.

The Checklist

Are you borrowing money on your credit cards to pay regular expenses such as food and utilities?
Are you using one form of credit, such as a line of credit or debt-consolidation loans, to make payment on other debts?
Are arguments about spending and money increasing in your family?
Are you paying more than 20 percent of your take home pay for installment purchases and credit cards charged to the limit?
Are your revolving credit cards charged to the limit?
Are this month’s bills pouring in before you’ve paid last month’s?
Are you unable to save money for anticipated annual and occasional expenses?
Are you borrowing more money before the old loan is paid off?
When you receive your monthly charge account bills, can you pay only the minimum monthly payment?
Do your charge account balances increase each month?

Information Provided by: Divorce Source, Inc.

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COMMUNITY PROPERTY VERSUS EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION -- There are two basic ways to handle divorce property division: Community Property: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico are community property states. This means that all marital property is typically defined as community property or separate property. When divorcing, community property is typically divided evenly, and each spouse keeps his or her separate property. Equitable Distribution: All other states follow equitable distribution. This means that a judge decides what is equitable, or fair, rather than simply splitting the property in two. In practice, this may mean that two-thirds of the property goes to the higher earning spouse, with the other spouse getting one-third.