You may have assumed the position of primarily managing your and your spouse’s finances throughout your marriage. So you may feel largely responsible if you have landed on hard financial times that you cannot figure out how to get out of. While, you may be considering a bankruptcy declaration strongly, you may be hesitant to drag your spouse down as part of its collateral damage. Well, if this is your current predicament, please read on to discover whether you can file for bankruptcy without your spouse and how a seasoned Rockland County bankruptcy attorney at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C. can help explore your options.
Will I be able to file for bankruptcy without my spouse?
In New York State, you may have the option of filing for consumer bankruptcy individually without your spouse or jointly with your spouse. Now, there are many factors to consider before deciding between one or the other.
That is, you may consider filing individually if you mostly have separate debts rather than joint debts. In other words, if most of your debt is solely under your name. An example is if you have had preexisting credit card debts, medical bill debts, and personal loan debts since before you entered into a marriage with your spouse.
In this way, your spouse’s credit may remain unaffected by your individual bankruptcy filing. This may be seen as helpful after your bankruptcy case, as they may be better capable of obtaining credit lines, personal loans, housing, etc. on your and your family unit’s behalves.
Will my bankruptcy filing hurt my spouse in any way?
On the other hand, though, bankruptcy may affect your spouse if you file jointly. You may be driven to a joint bankruptcy filing if the majority of your debts are joint debts.
For example, say that you and your spouse are primarily struggling to keep up with the monthly mortgage payments for your family home, which is titled under both of your names. In this case, an individual bankruptcy filing may clear your eligible separate debts. But all throughout and even after your case is closed, your spouse may still be expected to keep up with these monthly mortgage payments. This is because, as the non-filing spouse, they may not be granted a discharge of your joint debt. So, your joint mortgage debt may now become their full responsibility.
Ultimately, a joint bankruptcy filing may hurt your spouse’s credit score, along with making them directly impacted by potential asset liquidation. But sadly, this may be the most logical solution give your debt status.
To better understand your legal rights in the matter at hand, please seek the advisement of a sound and competent Rockland County bankruptcy attorney. Please feel confident in knowing that our team at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C. has significant experience in handling legal cases just like yours. So call us today.
