# responsible for spouses's debts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2002, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827 "2002-07-19T16:09:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/1 "2002-07-19T16:09:10Z")
If you marry someone, are you then responsible for their outstanding debts? I have some. If I marry, can they go after my spouse? ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/2 "2002-07-19T16:26:37Z")
Generally, no. However, if a creditor gets a judgment against her, he can go after assets you hold jointly with her. (There are limits on this, and an easy way to avoid it in the case of real estate - you simply take title as tenants by the entireties, rather than as joint tenants.) If she incurs additional debt after marriage, you could be held responsible under the Family Expense Act, if the debt arose out of the purchase of and item or service which benefitted the family as a whole. That wouldn’t apply to pre-marital debts, though ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/3 "2002-07-19T16:35:31Z")
Random, thankie. I, however, am the female. I have an old debt of when I was evicted. I hold no assets or job for that matter. So your saying, don’t sign up for anything jointly? ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/4 "2002-07-19T16:38:38Z")
Somehow, my disclaimer got lost there. Here goes: I am an attorney, but not your attorney. Nothing in the above post is meant to constitute legal advice that you should rely on without consulting an attorney in your jurisdiction. My statements in the above post are based upon Illinois law. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/5 "2002-07-19T16:45:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*Random, thankie. > I, however, am the female. > I have an old debt of when I was evicted. I hold no assets or job for that matter. > So your saying, don’t sign up for anything jointly? \*\* That would be a good idea. How old is the debt? Was a judgment taken against you? (Debts are subject to statutes of limitation (time limits to sue), which vary from state to state. (Written contract S/L in Illinois is 10 years, oral contract 5 years.) Even judgments expire, but generally the time you have to wait is very long. (With renewals, 20 years in Illinois.) ---
**Author:** ![EmbarrassingDad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/embarrassingdad/32/5441_2.png) [@EmbarrassingDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmbarrassingDad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/6 "2002-07-19T22:49:38Z")
Vanilla I hope you mind me tagging on here 🙂 This is something that has also been on my mind lately. If I were to file bankruptcy and then get married in six months, how would this affect my spouse’s credit? Would she be able to get credit based on her previous (good) record, or would they see a bankruptcy in “the family”? What if I earn all the income? ---
**Author:** ![EmbarrassingDad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/embarrassingdad/32/5441_2.png) [@EmbarrassingDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmbarrassingDad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/7 "2002-07-19T22:52:47Z")
This is why if I did crossword puzzles, I wouldn’t do them in ink. I meant I hope you \*don’t[/] mind 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EmbarrassingDad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/embarrassingdad/32/5441_2.png) [@EmbarrassingDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmbarrassingDad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/8 "2002-07-19T22:58:23Z")
This is why if I did crossword puzzles, I wouldn’t do them in ink. I meant I hope you \*don’t[/] mind 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/9 "2002-07-20T00:24:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Random \* > **Generally, no. However, if a creditor gets a judgment against her, he can go after assets you hold jointly with her. (There are limits on this, and an easy way to avoid it in the case of real estate - you simply take title as tenants by the entireties, rather than as joint tenants.)** Random, you are an attorney, but unless Illinois has changed its law within the last 16 years, it does not recognize tenancy by the entirety. It does recognize tenants in common. So if you hold property with your spouse as “tenants in common” his or her debts do not attach to yours. However, a judgment creditor against your spouse may result in levy and execution thereof, unless the propery is exempt from levy (and homesteads are). If that be the case, the creditor can force a partition of the property to satisfy the debt, resulting in the sale of the property. You will get your equity in it, but you will lose the property. ---
**Author:** ![dreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/10 "2002-07-20T01:54:12Z")
When I got married I had an old student loan I had defaulted on. On our first tax year together they took ALL of our tax return and threatened to take some of my husbands monthly wages if I didn’t start paying. At the time I was fighting with the California Student Aid Commission about my student loan (long story) which is why I defaulted. California is a community property state, so whatever is yours is his and vice versa here. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/11 "2002-07-20T15:00:38Z")
The solution is… don’t get married. ---
**Author:** ![Visual\_Purple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@Visual\_Purple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Visual_Purple)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/12 "2002-07-20T16:30:43Z")
With respect to tenancy by the entireties, it **is** new in Illinois within the last sixteen years. In the same time period, Ohio has stopped allowing married couples to put property into tenancy by the entireties. The point is that, as usual, this is a state specific question. But credit reporting is governed by federal law, the Fair Credit and Reporting Act (IIRC) being the most important source. One of the ideas behind this act was that it would give a person some protection from having his or her credit ruined by acts of a spouse acting alone. I’m not going to give you an opinion as to whether this would require your debts to be kept off your (future) husband’s credit report, but I will give you my impression that the erroneous reporting of one spouse’s debt as a join debt is a pretty common problem on credit reports, and might argue against your changing your last name to your husband’s when you marry. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/13 "2002-07-20T18:17:56Z")
I’m really surprised that Illinois has adopted tenancy by the entirety, since IIRC it is very similar to joint tenancy. Please explain this form of ownership to me (again, as I’ve forgot it). But, as I said, I remember it being very similar to IJT. And in joint tenancy, an execution and levy on property owned by a joint tenant would sever the joint tenancy, so it really doesn’t make any difference how the property is held. After the levy, it will be as tenants in common, except in those states, such as Cal., which has community property. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/14 "2002-07-20T21:02:36Z")
**barbitu8** IIANL, but the following (from [www.lawyers.com/lawyers-com/content/glossary/glossary.htm](http://www.lawyers.com/lawyers-com/content/glossary/glossary.htm) ) is essentially what my lawyer said when we bought our house > [@](#): > > a tenancy that is shared by spouses who are considered one person in law and have the rights of survivorship inherent in joint tenancy and that becomes a tenancy in common in the event of divorce \ I think this means while a judgement against a joint tenant would sever the joint tenancy, it wouldn’t end a tenancy by the entirey. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/15 "2002-07-21T01:30:08Z")
Thanks, \*\* Doreen\*\*. BTW, a judgment would not in and of itself sever the JT, but an execution and levy on it would. The case, which I haven’t looked up, states that one party cannot encumber his or her share in tenancy by the entirety. That indicates a voluntary encumbrance. I wonder about a judgment. I really doubt that a creditor would be prohibited from obtaining a judgment and levying on it merely because of the form of ownership. However, I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/16 "2002-07-21T02:05:08Z")
I looked up the case, but it did not settle the issue. However, an Illinois case based on the 1990 statute that created tenacy by the entirety does, 735 IL Cs 5/12/-112: > [@](#): > > Any real property, or any beneficial interest in a land trust, held in tenancy by the entirety shall not be liable to be sold upon judgment entered on or after October 1, 1990 against only one of the tenants, except if the property was transferred into tenancy by the entirety with the sole intent to avoid the payment of debts existing at the time of the transfer beyond the transferor’s ability to pay those debts as they become due. However, any income from such property shall be subject to garnishment as provided in Part 7 of this Article XII, whether judgment has been entered against one or both of the tenants. Note that tenancy by the entirety applies only to spouses and only to homestead property. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/responsible-for-spousess-debts/119827/17 "2002-07-21T14:04:00Z")
> [@](#): > > (765 ILCS 1005/1c) > Sec. 1c. Whenever a devise, conveyance, assignment, or other transfer of property, including a beneficial interest in a land trust, maintained or intended for maintenance as a homestead by both husband and wife together during coverture shall be made and the instrument of devise, conveyance, assignment, or transfer expressly declares that the > devise or conveyance is made to tenants by the entirety, or if the beneficial interest in a land trust is to be held as tenants by the entirety, the estate created shall be deemed to be in tenancy by the entirety. Subject to the provisions of paragraph (d) of Section 2 and unless otherwise assented to in writing by both tenants by the entirety, the estate in tenancy by the entirety so created shall exist only if, and as long as, the tenants are and remain married to each other, and upon the death of either such tenant the survivor shall retain the entire estate; provided that, upon a judgment of dissolution of marriage > or of declaration of invalidity of marriage, the estate shall, by > operation of law, become a tenancy in common until and unless the court directs otherwise; provided further that the estate shall, by operation of law, become a joint tenancy upon the creation and maintenance by both spouses together of other property as a homestead. A devise, > conveyance, assignment, or other transfer to 2 grantees who are not in fact husband and wife that purports to create an estate by the entirety shall be construed as having created an estate in joint tenancy. An estate in tenancy by the entirety may be created notwithstanding the fact that a grantor is or the grantors are also named as a grantee or the grantees in a deed. No deed, contract for deed, mortgage, or lease > of homestead property held in tenancy by the entirety shall be effective unless signed by both tenants. This Section shall not apply to nor operate to change the effect of any devise or conveyance. This amendatory Act of 1995 is declarative of existing law. > (Source: P.A. 92-136, eff. 1-1-02.) > > ``` > (765 ILCS 1005/2) > > ```