Help the community and expand your practice! Find out how.
Already registered? Login here.
Question Details: My wife and I have just separated. Before we separated she spent around $25,000 on my credit cards. The money was spent on clothes for herself and also for our children. Am I liable for this debt?
Filed under Property Law | 1530 View(s)
Community Law Wellington & Hutt Valley
Yes, you will be liable to the bank for the credit card debt. However, the debt can be considered in any relationship property division arrangements you and your wife make between you.
Your wife may be required to compensate you for half of the debt, and perhaps more than half if the bulk of the costs were unnecessary clothes for her. But relationship property arrangements do not affect your debt to the bank – they are only between you and your wife. For information about relationship property and debts, click on this link www.communitylaw.org.nz. Look particularly at the heading ‘Relationship Property and Separate Property’.
Answered 19 Sep 2012. The IMPORTANT NOTICE below is part of this answer.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
The answer provided above is intended for general informational purposes only and cannot be
considered a substitute for face-to-face legal advice. It should not be relied upon as the sole
basis for taking action in relation to a legal issue. Laws change frequently, and small
variations in the facts, or a fact not provided in the question, can often change a legal
outcome or a lawyer’s conclusion. No liability whatsoever is accepted by the authors or
publishers of the answer, for loss, damage or inconvenience arising in any way from the use of
this site. While each answer has been published by a lawyer with a practising certificate, that
person may not necessarily have experience in the particular area of law involved.
For more information about this website, please review our
Terms of Use.