Legal Question in Family Law in California
Division of debts: apartment lease, federal taxes
Two questions:
First, my spouse moved out of our apartment two months after we signed an 18 month lease (the lease is in both of our names). It has been 10 months since then, and I got a roommate to pay half the rent starting 4 months ago. What, if any, portion of the total lease liability will my spouse be responsible for? How are leases incorporated into the California divorce forms? Is the total amount of the lease considered a community debt? Or just the part until we separated (when she moved out)? Although I encouraged her to do so once I had a new roommate moving in, she never signed anything removing herself from the lease. She had many of her belongings in the apartment until just one month ago.
Second, due to a lack of foresight, we were stuck with $1500 in unpaid federal taxes after last year. These were the result of filing jointly. She has money withheld from her paycheck, while I must pay quarterly. How should those unpaid taxes be split? Is the total amount of the unpaid taxes considered a community debt? And further, how should we file this year to ensure that neither one of us will end up being liable (at least in the IRS's eyes) for the full amount?
Thank you very much for your advice.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Division of debts: apartment lease, federal taxes
The responsibility for the lease would generally be the responsibility of the person that lived in the apartment. The other debts would be divided between the parties in a manner which the court felt was equitable. The tax debt would probably be divided in a manner in proportion to the earnings of each party.
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