If you and your spouse in California have made the tough choice to end your marriage, you will need to get a good understanding of your assets and debts. Identifying these things will be an important step in determining how you will divide your marital estate. California is a community property state so a divorce division is required to be equal for both parties although there are many ways that may be accomplished.
Even in a community property state, there is a recognition that debts incurred prior to a marriage may remain the sole responsibility of the person who brought them into the marriage. Student loan debt may often fall into this category. However, as explained by Student Loan Hero, there are some situations in which student loan debt may be considered to be part of the marital property.
If you or your spouse was in school or went back to school while you were married and took out student loans to fund that education, those loans might become part of your marital property to be divided in your divorce. One of the factors evaluated in this situation is what the money was used for. If it contributed to your joint living expenses, there is a potential that the debt is viewed as being joint.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to let spouses in California with student loan debt in one or both parties’ names understand how this type of debt may be viewed and addressed when they get divorced.
