Providing Comprehensive, Hands-On Legal Help When You Need It

Credit card debt in a Delaware divorce

As an equitable property state, Delaware divides debts and assets from a divorce based on what’s fair. The court considers what each person contributed and sacrificed to their marital wealth. Married couples may be able to negotiate with each other as well.

Close or freeze all joint credit card accounts

You might want to avoid generating new marital debts while your divorce is pending. It’s possible to close or freeze your joint credit card accounts. When it comes to joint bank accounts, however, you would need the court’s permission.

Obtain your credit reports

Sometimes, a spouse has a debt they didn’t tell their partner about. You may want to obtain your credit reports to depict your total marital debts accurately.

Inform creditors of your divorce

You could mail a formal notice of your divorce to your creditors and request that they freeze or close your account. This will help prevent you from continuing to have responsibility for your spouse’s spending.

Create a debt repayment plan

You and your spouse might want to pay off your marital debts while going through the divorce process. It would reduce your stress when you move on to new lives. If it’s impossible to pay them off before your divorce is official, you may want to pay off as much as you can. You may divide the debts each will be responsible for after the divorce. Take the assets that you receive into consideration while dividing the debts to ensure it’s fair.

File for bankruptcy

If it’s going to be nearly impossible to pay off your marital debts, then you and your spouse could file for bankruptcy before the divorce is final. This would help both of you get a fresh start without the stress over your debts.

Once you or your spouse has started the divorce process, you may want to separate your finances and close all joint credit card accounts. Both of you are responsible for the debts that you acquired during the marriage, so you must create a plan for handling them.