How is marital debt distributed?
In the state of New Hampshire, marital debt is distributed through a process known as Equitable Distribution. This means that the court will divide the parties’ marital debt in a fair and equitable manner that is determined by several factors. These factors include the economic situation of each of the parties, the length of the marriage, and any economic misconduct on either party’s part. Once the debt has been determined to be marital, the court will look at how the debt was acquired. If one of the parties was solely responsible for accumulating the debt, they may be assigned responsibility for the entire debt, even if it was incurred during the marriage. Other factors the court may consider are whether the debt was used for family expenses, and if either party assumed any post-divorce responsibility for the debt in their settlement agreement. The court also considers which assets were acquired during the marriage to determine who will be responsible for the debt payments. This is done by comparing the current value of assets obtained during the marriage with the value of assets each party brought to the marriage. If the current value of the marital assets is lower than the value of assets each party brought to the marriage, then the court may attempt to equalize the difference by assigning responsibility for the debt to the party with the higher net wealth at the time of the divorce. Ultimately, the court strives to divide the debt in a way that is equitable for both parties, considering each party’s ability to pay and any other factors that may have caused the debt to be accumulated.
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