The separation agreement can create an overwhelming financial time for you. Living apart while legally married can create financial confusion. You or your spouse can deny paying bills during separation.
Are you wondering about who is liable for paying the household bills in a divorce?
Well, the spouse, who has his/her name on the bill or agreement, is responsible for paying bills in a divorce.
But, the mortgage, joint credit card bills, debt, and a car loan are the responsibilities for both the spouses in a divorce.
Otherwise, you will be in severe financial trouble later.
Knowing the right answer can save you from the severe credit damage or financial issues during the divorce. Read the article to get all the answers.
Keep making payments of your current bills
Follow the thumb rules when determining the household payments bills during the divorce.
- Pay all the bill where your name is included.
- Negotiate with your spouse if both of you are jointly liable for a bill.
- You shouldn’t take on extra financial responsibilities during your separation with your spouse.
If the house is yours, you have to pay the utility bill.
Also, you need to pay the car loan and other necessary bills like cable, internet, and phone. In a word, keep paying all the bills that are your current responsibilities.
Maintain a joint account to pay the common bills
If both spouses are working, then depending on their paychecks, they should keep a joint account to pay common bills like a utility, joint debt, house rent, tax, and grocery.
The low earner spouse can get the temporary spousal support
In any case, if one spouse earns significantly lower than another spouse, then he/she can request for temporary spousal support.
However, this support will not cover every expense. But, it will be there until you find a good job or achieve a better financial situation.
Both spouses should pay the child expenses
Both spouses are liable for the child expenses during the divorce.
Usually, one spouse gets the full responsibilities of the child after the separation.
But, the spouse, who doesn’t get the custody, is also liable to pay the child support to the other spouse.
The spouse who signed the rent lease should pay the rent during separation
If the person stops paying the rent or leaves the house, the owner should ask the rental board for the money or financial compensation. The owner can sue the person whose signature is in the agreement.
In addition to this, the other spouse can be forced to leave the house. To avoid this problem, the other spouse (whose sign is not in the lease) can ask the judge to give the permission to live in the apartment.
If the spouse is unable to afford the rent, then the judge will give the order to the other spouse to continue with the rent payments.
Document the bills you are paying
Make sure you document the bills, you are paying, as soon as you file for divorce. By doing so, you can show the court that you are handling some financial responsibilities.
Remember, divorce and debt responsibility is another complicated subject in a divorce.
Seek help from a lawyer
Divorce can be an emotional phase of life that comes with the various type of complexities. Splitting assets and bills are difficult to understand for a layman.
Thus, you can contact a divorce lawyer and seek help to understand who is responsible for which bills.
If your spouse is denying to pay any bill, you can get the temporary order from the court about the bill payments.
Lastly, the time can be stressful during the divorce. But both of you should be very careful about all the monthly bills.
So, it is advisable to make the decision considering the financial ability for both of you.
If both of you can’t split the bills yourselves, then don’t make any verbal agreement with your spouse.
To do so, talk to your lawyer to seek help for the temporary orders.
