Do I have to pay my ex-spouse’s student loans?

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in divorce on Wednesday, January 31, 2018.

If you are one of the many people in Missouri who is facing the end of your marriage this year, you are no doubt concerned about the financial ramifications you may experience from a divorce. Many people focus on the division of assets when they first think of a property division settlement. While splitting assets is definitely a component of this, it is debts also that must be divided between spouses.

As Forbes explains, student loan debt may be one type of debt that ends up being shared by both spouses. Like other debts or assets, a determination of who will be responsible for paying student loan debt during a divorce may be influenced by many factors. One of these factors is likely to be whether or not the spouse who took out the loans used them solely for tuition and potentially books or other school fees or if the money was also used to pay for basic living expenses.

If the money was used for the latter and extended into a time when the couple was already married, it could be said potentially that the spouse who did not take out the loans also benefitted from the money and may therefore be liable for repaying at least part of the debt remaining.

This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give divorcing Missouri residents an idea of the type of nuances that may arise when dividing assets and debts during the property division process.

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