Right Lawyer, as a renowned divorce lawyer in Las Vegas, comes with a common and most concerning question about the remaining debts to be paid after divorce and who will be responsible. If one spouse pays the other spouse maintains, the monthly debt is considered in this case. For example, if the husband has an income of $ 4,000 and pays loan installments of $ 1,000, he still has $ 3,000 left. If the other spouse has no income, he generally receives around $ 1,286 maintenances (3/7 of the income difference). This means that he pays almost half of the loan installment, because his maintenance is reduced to this extent: He receives a maintenance fee of $ 428 less, since the other spouse deducts $ 1,000 debt installment from his income. Because without the deduction of debts, he would have received 3/7 of $ 4,000, i.e. $ 1,714 in maintenance.
As a result, the other spouse pays almost half of the debt, provided the spousal support is calculated correctly. It means that the spouses are “quit” in this respect. The spouse who pays off the debts cannot therefore ask the other spouse to share half of the debt again. The participation has already taken place via the spouse's maintenance!
Exceptions:
In the case of high incomes, the spouse's maintenance is not calculated using the quota maintenance (3/7 of the income difference). Has z. For example, if one spouse has an income of $ 10,000 per month, the other spouse does not automatically receive $ 4,286 maintenances. According to the case law on the saturation limit, maintenance is usually capped, e.g. $ 3,000. This result remains even if the first spouse subtracts $ 1,000 from their $ 10,000 incomes for a loan installment. The upkeep still remains at $ 3,000.
As a result, if you have a high income, the loan installment is not taken into account for the maintenance calculation. In these cases, the other spouse can be required to participate in the loan.
Debt and Gains
The treatment of debt in gain is very often wrong in practice. The financial implications are serious.
Let's take the initial case in which both spouses have a property worth 400,000 and the joint debts of $ 100,000 are still outstanding.
The following result is often offered by lawyers specializing in family law:
|
Husband
|
Wife
|
Property each ½
|
$ 200,000
|
$ 200,000
|
Debt each ½
|
- $ 50,000
|
- $ 50,000
|
Result
|
$ 150,000
|
$ 150,000
|
Gain compensation
|
0
|
|
However, the right to compensation between the spouses must be taken into account.
Let us assume that the husband assumes the debt alone and that the wife no longer has to participate in the loan in the future. Then the correct result in the profit equalization looks like this:
|
Husband
|
Wife
|
Property each ½
|
$ 200,000
|
$ 200,000
|
Debt each in full
|
- $ 100,000
|
- $ 100,000
|
Wife's right to compensation
|
|
+ $ 100,000
|
Intermediate result
|
$ 100,000
|
$ 200,000
|
Difference in favor of wife
|
$ 100,000
|
|
Gain compensation
|
+ $ 50,000
|
- $ 50,000
|
Result
|
$ 150,000
|
$ 150,000
|
If the husband takes on the debt, the wife has to pay him half – with $ 50,000 in compensation!
Problem: one spouse's insolvency
However, if the debts of a spouse are irrecoverable in the long run because they are not economically in a position to pay the debts, this must also be taken into account when calculating the profit equalization. The result of the gain adjustment must also be taken into account during the examination. An experienced family law attorney should clarify these complicated questions for you.
Double consideration of debts
In practice, there is often the problem that the payment of debts via the spousal support has already been taken into account (see III. Above). So if spouse maintenance is paid permanently, the other spouse will permanently bear half of the debt.
In these cases, it must not happen again that the debts are set again in the gain adjustment (see above IV.), Since then both maintenance and gain would be reduced by half of the debts.
In detail, the case law is still unclear here. The following principles essentially apply:
1. Debts were taken into account in maintenance
If the spouses have already taken the deduction of debts into account when calculating the maintenance for the future, the remaining outstanding liability can only be set in the amount that is not already distributed over the maintenance.
2. Debt was included in the gain
If the gain adjustment is calculated in advance and the debts are taken into account there, the debt service must be neutralized accordingly in the maintenance calculation so that it does not come into double consideration.
Problem: The equalization claim was not taken into account in the calculation of the gain equalization
If the family court decides on the equalization of profits and if the equalization claim with regard to the debts is not taken into account, this judgment is binding on the spouses. A share in the debt cannot therefore be demanded again afterwards.
If it is not a judgment (or decision) by the court, but a settlement between the spouses, this is also binding. It would be contrary to good faith if a spouse subsequently requests a share in the joint and several liabilities.
Exceptions - compensation can therefore be requested retrospectively:
- Possible for the future
However, the non-billing agreement only applies to the past, not the future. For the future, each spouse can, in principle, demand half of the total debts still outstanding.
- Possible for excessive debt contributions
If the amount of the usage fee is lower than the monthly loan installment, the excess amount of loan installments can also be claimed retrospectively from the other spouse.
- Only if a spouse has stayed in the property
If both spouses have moved out, neither spouse owes the other usage fee. Therefore, half of the participation in the debt reduction can be demanded retrospectively!
this!
Result
Engaging in debt for real estate is very complicated. In practice, mistakes are very often made here. The financial impact on the spouses is serious.
Let an experienced lawyer specialize in family law advise you on.