# Can you "marry" someones college loan debt? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 19, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991 "2018-01-19T19:29:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/1 "2018-01-19T19:29:30Z")
Lets say you marry someone who had say $40,000 in college loans. Is that considered YOUR debt now? Can they force you as a spouse to pay? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/2 "2018-01-19T20:31:52Z")
It depends. [https://studentloanhero.com/featured/student-loans-and-marriage-4-facts-before-tying-the-knot/](https://studentloanhero.com/featured/student-loans-and-marriage-4-facts-before-tying-the-knot/) > [@](#): > > 1. Your spouse could be responsible for your loans > In certain situations, your spouse could be responsible for your student loan debt. While all federal loans and some private loans offer a death discharge if the borrower dies, some private loan lenders might not. So be sure to read the fine print. > > If you go back to school and your spouse co-signs your loan, he or she will be legally responsible for your debt if you fail to make payments. > > Even without co-signing, your spouse might be liable for your student loans. This is the case if you take out a student loan while you’re married and live in a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin). > > Your spouse also might be responsible for your student loans if they are in default and you have no wages to garnish. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/3 "2018-01-19T20:44:20Z")
Another sign of modern times. Don’t marry any one without doing a credit check first. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/4 "2018-01-19T20:44:23Z")
Does the above apply to spouses that acquired the debt before the marriage, and what if this debt isn’t revealed until after the marriage? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/5 "2018-01-19T21:09:13Z")
The biggest concern with debt existing before marriage is that minimum monthly payments can be increased due to combined income. If your spouse defaults on the loan, your tax refund can be affected. However, you can limit this by filling out an Injured Spouse Form (#8379). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/6 "2018-01-19T21:55:12Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Another sign of modern times. Don’t marry any one without doing a credit check first. Given how many marriages have been troubled by financial problems throughout history, I fail to see how this is a modern problem. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/7 "2018-01-19T22:31:05Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Given how many marriages have been troubled by financial problems throughout history, I fail to see how this is a modern problem. Nowadays you can find a spendthrift spouse who absconds with your money thanks to the internet. Back in the good old days you wouldn’t find them until they die of consumption in an opium den, 6 abandoned pregnant wives later. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/8 "2018-01-19T22:37:32Z")
[wrong thread!] ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/9 "2018-01-19T22:38:40Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Given how many marriages have been troubled by financial problems throughout history, I fail to see how this is a modern problem. It was rare for those financial problems to exist before marriage in the past. Most people married at a younger age then now, usually with no significant debt at all. Now people can be carrying huge student loans, credit card debt, car loans, even mortgages. It was back around 1990 first time I met someone who unknowingly married a bunch of debt, I guess that’s the dark ages now. Certainly older people marrying or remarrying could be carrying a lot of debt way back when, but it was rare for the younger ones. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/10 "2018-01-19T22:59:32Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Does the above apply to spouses that acquired the debt before the marriage, and what if this debt isn’t revealed until after the marriage? In a community property state, debt acquired before marriage still remains individual debt. But assets acquired during marriage are (mostly) community property. Creditors can attach community property to pay off individual debt. Community property includes the salaries of both spouses after marriage. So let’s say Mary, a corporate middle-manager, marries Stu, a full-time student with no assets or income, but $40,000 in student debt. Stu plans to tell his creditors “tough, I’m broke, you can’t get blood from a turnip.” His creditors’ lawyers will tell Stu “You live in a community property state. Half of Mary’s salary is yours. Pay up or we’ll see the two of you in court.” Mary must also constantly exercise caution not to accidentally convert any of the separate assets she brings into the marriage into community assets. For example, say she has her paycheck direct deposited into her bank account. If she has her first check after marriage deposited into that same account, she has commingled separate and community assets. In some community property states, that would make the whole account community property and therefore fair game for Stu’s creditors. But if they got divorced, Stu’s unpaid separate debt would remain his. Stu’s creditors’ rights are not affected by Stu and Mary’s lack of marital communications. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/11 "2018-01-19T23:03:29Z")
IANAL (or an accountant), but it wouldn’t surprise me much if a woman with student debt who marries a man and ends up being a joint owner on bank accounts, property, etc, could have that joint property seized to cover her debt if she were to not make the payments. When I married my wife, she had $0 in debt, so I’ve never really worried much about it. ETA: ninja’d while typing ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/12 "2018-01-19T23:12:40Z")
Whether you live in a community property state or not, unless you intended to live completely separate lives, your spouse’s debt is going to cost you, regardless of whether you are legally liable for the debt. Time to pay the rent? Make the car payments? Pay bills? “Sorry, honey, you know my paycheck has been attached by the court order. Love to help, but I’m broke.” Want to buy a house? Feel free to save for the down payment by yourself and get a mortgage in your own name because of his bad credit. Want to get divorced? Your spouse doesn’t have the cash to make child support payments. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/13 "2018-01-20T01:44:36Z")
Tangentially, my spouse and I both had student loan debt. When we married, we agreed that we each took responsibility for seeing them paid off. When my friend died, his parents paid off his student loans. These loans made it possible for me, my spouse, and many of my friends to go to university. I would want to do my part to keep this option available for future generations, such as my current students. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/14 "2018-01-20T05:32:58Z")
The other side of the adage: You can marry more debt in an hour than you can accumulate in a lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/15 "2018-01-20T14:05:28Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Mary must also constantly exercise caution not to accidentally convert any of the separate assets she brings into the marriage into community assets. For example, say she has her paycheck direct deposited into her bank account. If she has her first check after marriage deposited into that same account, she has commingled separate and community assets. In some community property states, that would make the whole account community property and therefore fair game for Stu’s creditors… Is it feasible for the couple to avoid commingling their debts? What exactly would that typically involve? Could they just not get married but live their lives as if they were married? (though I hear in “common law” states, if certain criteria are met a couple is considered married even if they never requested one.) ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/16 "2018-01-20T14:39:58Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Is it feasible for the couple to avoid commingling their debts? What exactly would that typically involve? Could they just not get married but live their lives as if they were married? (though I hear in “common law” states, if certain criteria are met a couple is considered married even if they never requested one.) From what I can gather, there’s only one state which both recognizes common-law marriages and community property in marriages: Texas. (Idaho also recognizes common-law marriages from before 1996.) In most states that recognize common-law marriage, the couple has to “present themselves to the community” as though they were married. If the couple is crystal-clear in all respects that they are not married (i.e., they file individual tax returns, never call each other husband or wife, don’t change their names, etc.), then they probably can avoid being viewed as “married” in the eyes of the state. However, there are probably state-by-state subtleties & caveats to this, so don’t go taking this as legal advice. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/17 "2018-01-20T19:06:02Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Is it feasible for the couple to avoid commingling their debts? What exactly would that typically involve? Could they just not get married but live their lives as if they were married? (though I hear in “common law” states, if certain criteria are met a couple is considered married even if they never requested one.) In that context, I was not using the term “common law state” to mean a state that recognizes “common law marriages.” I meant “common law property.” Common law property has nothing to do with common law marriage. It is the opposite of “community property.” For example, Texas recognizes common law marriages, but it is a community property state, not a common law property state. When discussing community property, people usually call the states that do not have community property “common law states.” Sorry for the confusion. Yes, you can avoid commingling debts and assets by not getting married. If you live in a state that recognizes common law marriage, you should avoid the acts (like telling everyone you are married) that would result in a common law marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/18 "2018-01-21T00:08:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It was rare for those financial problems to exist before marriage in the past. Most people married at a younger age then now, usually with no significant debt at all. Now people can be carrying huge student loans, credit card debt, car loans, even mortgages. It was back around 1990 first time I met someone who unknowingly married a bunch of debt, I guess that’s the dark ages now. Certainly older people marrying or remarrying could be carrying a lot of debt way back when, but it was rare for the younger ones. 50 years ago, Sexually Acquired Debt (SAD) was a woman marrying a man who carried debt. It was the same in the romance literature of the 1700’s. Acquiring debt from a woman that you marry seems to be a more recent problem. No doubt it existed in rare cases, but the usual problem was for the woman to acquire debt /after/ marriage that the man had to pay. Perhaps because up until 50 ~ 100 years ago, single women often couldn’t get loans. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/19 "2018-01-22T01:28:38Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Whether you live in a community property state or not, unless you intended to live completely separate lives, your spouse’s debt is going to cost you, regardless of whether you are legally liable for the debt. > > Time to pay the rent? Make the car payments? Pay bills? “Sorry, honey, you know my paycheck has been attached by the court order. Love to help, but I’m broke.” > > Want to buy a house? Feel free to save for the down payment by yourself and get a mortgage in your own name because of his bad credit. This is almost exactly what I heard on the Dave Ramsey show the other day. A young man looking to get married. Well his future wife was pressuring him to take out a mortgage and buy a house BEFORE they got married but he wasnt sure why. He also said she was hesitant to totally tell him her finances and he was guessing she had some big outstanding student loans. Ramsey basically told him that before proceeding with the marriage he has got to get her to sit down and come clean on all these issues because money is often the biggest issue which leads to divorce. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991/20 "2018-01-22T01:30:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Another sign of modern times. Don’t marry any one without doing a credit check first. I did this with my wife. She had some outstanding debt and I made her get those all paid off before I married her. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991.md?page=2)