How is marital debt distributed?

In Washington, marital debt is distributed according to the Uniform Debt Collection Act. This law stipulates that all marital debt, including credit card debt, student loan debt and other financial obligations, will be divided equitably between both parties at the time of divorce. According to the law, the court will look at both parties’ financial and non-financial contributions to the marriage in order to decide who will be responsible for which debt. If the court finds that one party is more financially responsible than the other, then that party may be asked to pay more of the debt. However, the court will strive to divide the debt in a fair and equitable manner. In some cases, the court may decide that the debt should be split evenly between both parties. This may be a suitable option if both parties contributed equally to the marriage and are in similar financial situations. Alternatively, the court may state that both parties must pay their respective halves of the debt, such as when one party has a substantially higher income than the other. In certain cases, one person may be required to take on responsibility for all of the debt, such as when one party is found to be the primary source of the debt. In such cases, the court may force that person to pay all of the debt or, if the debt is too great, the court may order that the debt be paid off over time. No matter how the debt is divided, both parties will still be legally responsible for repaying the debt, regardless of who is paying it. The court may also require that parties obtain a copy of each other’s credit report to ensure that the debt is paid in full. Furthermore, both parties will still be liable for any interest or other penalties that may accrue on the debt.

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