When spouses divorce, if one has run up significant credit card debt, both spouses are probably curious about how this will play out in court.  If neither spouse has the resources to cover the debt, for example, this is likely to be a serious issue in a divorce.

Under state law, spouses do have the opportunity to generate their own agreement about division of assets and debts.  If you go this route, the spouse who agrees to make payments on the credit card debt will need to comply with the terms of the settlement reached by both parties.  Usually, a settlement is reduced to a written agreement and incorporated by reference in a court order or judgment.   However, if both spouses are account holders on the credit card, the bank can pursue both parties for collection, even though only one is responsible to make the payment under an agreement between the parties.

If you’re not able to reach your own agreement about the issue, a court in New York can enforce credit card debt payments as part of a divorce.  If one or both spouses skip out on the payments, however, the credit card companies are allowed to report that non-payment on the credit report of both spouses.  It’s often a wise move to ask a credit card company to close any joint accounts as soon as you decide to get divorced.  Doing this will prevent one spouse from running up additional debt under a joint account which could negatively influence the other spouse’s credit rating.

If the credit card was not co-signed, but was instead the individual responsibility of one party, then a debt collector is unlikely to be able to request payment from the other party in the marriage.  Consult with a New York family law attorney to get more specifics about credit card debt division and divorce.