Divorce is a complicated and tedious process. It has emotional, social and financial implications with far-reaching impacts.


Community and Personal Debt: A married couple gathers many assets during their marital life. At the same time, it also collects a fair amount of community debt. According to UK Family Law, community debt is the debt incurred by a marital couple during the period of marriage i.e. starting from the day the marriage was legally recognised to the day of the filing of the divorce petition in court. Community debt is joint debt. A married couple is treated as a single entity in the eyes of the law. Hence, both partners are equally responsible for the debt incurred by them during marital period.

On the other hand, personal debt is individual sole debt. This debt is taken by the partner in no relation to the marriage or to the spouse. Personal debt is taken by the individual irrespective of marriage date and time. Thus, personal debt does not get divided between the partners during a divorce. It remains unaffected by the status quo of the marital state of the individual.

Division of Community Debt: The court only considers community or joint debt during financial division. The law states that there should be a fair division of all liquid and fixed assets and debts between both spouses in the event of divorce. The Family Solicitors of London explain that the concept of fair division does not necessarily mean an equal division. The court looks at several factors for determining and agreeing to the terms of the financial settlement.

Determining Factors

• Child Custody Issue: The court is primarily guided by the principle of child custody. Which parent has sole child custody? Research shows that courts tend to favour that parent who has sole child custody. The court grants the caretaker parent a larger percentage share in the division of assets but a lower percentage in the division of debts. It holds the opinion that since the non-custodial parent does not have child custody, a large part of debt repayment can be his or her responsibility.



• Present and Future Income: The court looks at the income-earning capacity of both spouses. This decides the percentage of division. The court believes that a spouse who is not earning and, consequently, has no income prospects for the future should not be burdened with the responsibility of equally sharing debt repayment.



• The Debtor: Finally, the spouse who actually took the debt also determines the division entitlement. Related to this aspect is the concept of debt purpose. The court has to consider the issue of the purpose of the debt i.e. why was the debt taken, when was it taken and by whom? If the debt was incurred to pay the deposit towards school fees of the first born child, the court grants it a serious weightage. In contrast, if the debt was incurred to buy a luxury useless item, the court considers this gravely. In the former, the debt has a higher chance of equal division. In the latter case, the spouse who took the debt has a higher chance to be saddled with a larger share of repayment.

Ways to Divide Debt Fairly: Solicitors usually recommend that spouses seek professional help in the form of a debt counsellor. The debt counsellor is a trained legal financial expert who will help and guide both parties to reach a mutually agreeable division of debt repayment. Another possible recourse is that of mediation and negotiation. Both parties are again involved in discussions. It results in a mutually drafted financial settlement which is then finalised and lodged in court for approval.

But in case of contested bitter divorces, these methods of negotiated discussions fail. Both parties do not see eye to eye on any issue. Research shows that, in such cases, the feeling to hurt and take revenge is high. It is best to take precautions and safeguard against running up more community debt. A clever and hurt spouse can take advantage and take out loans in your name.

• Document all material possessions. This includes all household items and bank accounts.



• Make a list of all jointly owned properties. Gather all financial records, bills and receipts.



• Make a matrix about joint property and personal property


• Cancel all joint accounts which were opened in your marital name



• Inform all banks and other agencies of impending divorce and your decision to revert to your maiden name



• Cancel all joint credit cards



• Visit or call every financial institution you had contact with as a couple and find out if you had signed any authorisation document. Cancel this document authorising your spouse to withdraw and make financial transactions in your name.