Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

Marrage laws

Does the new husband become responsible for the new brides bills she had befor marrage,seeing how she took his last name,in the state of florida


Asked on 1/15/09, 7:00 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Marrage laws

Greetings. Thank you for allowing me to respond. Generally, under Florida Law, debts incurred prior to a marriage are considered individual and not "marital debts."

A marital debt is one that generally is incurred after the persons are married. For example, if after a couple is married, they obtain a credit card in both of their names and make charges on this card, then generally, both the husband and wife would be liable for the charges on the credit card.

This question also presents basic issues with creditors, debtors and bills. Generally, when a person obtains a loan individually in his/her name, only that individual is generally responsible for paying. However, sometimes - for example when a young person buys a car, the parent may co-sign for the loan. In this situation, if the loan is not repaid, the creditor can go after both the child and the parent for repayment.

The same general principles apply in your situation. Accordingly, unless you entered into credit contracts with your husband's creditors, you would generally not be liable for his pre-marriage debts.

I hope this helps and good luck.

DISCLAIMER (I really don�t like this but it is necessary): This response is limited by the information that you have provided to this lawyer. Based on the information you have provided, I have responded based on my knowledge and interpretation of existing laws. It is possible that if the same question was asked to another lawyer, the response could be different. This response is for �Legal Informational� purposes only and should not be confused with �Legal Advice� and nothing in this response should be construed as legal advise for any individual case. Under no circumstances does this response directly or indirectly, establish or intend to establish an Attorney-Client relationship between you and Ali Kirk, Attorney at Law. This response is not and shall not be construed as a solicitation for the legal services of any attorney. If you have already retained a lawyer in connection with this inquiry and this fact is unknown to this lawyer, this response should not be construed as impending and/or interfering with your attorney-client relationship with such attorney.

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Answered on 1/15/09, 2:48 pm


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