When married does your spouse take on any debt that you have innccoured prior to marriage, business or personal?
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When married does your spouse take on any debt that you have innccoured prior to marriage, business or personal?
Does your bad credit score effect your newlywed. When should a prenup be done?
Asked on May 10, 2018 under Family Law, Louisiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
1) A spouse does NOT become liable for any debts (business or personal) of his or her spouse which were incurred pre-marriage, unless he or she co-signed or guaranteed them.
2) While spouse A's bad credit does not lower spouse B's credit score, for many transactions (car, renting or buying a home or apartment), the other side will usually check the credit scores or histories of both spouses. The theory is that if one of you has excessive debt or is bad with money, that could result in financial issues for the couple/family, which could increase the risk of lending or leaseing to them, even if the other spouse has good credit. So while your spouse's credit does not become yours, it may have an indirect effect on you, especially for large transactions.
3) A pre-nup is appropriate when a) one spouse has much more in the way of pre-marriage assets and wants to protect them in the event of a divorce, and/or b) one spouse has dependents (e.g. minor or disabled children, elderly parents, a disabled sibling, etc.) or other legal committments (e.g. alimony or child support from a prior relationship) and wants to make sure they can take care of those dependents or meet those obligations post-divorce, without giving up too much of his/her assets or income.
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