Bankruptcy & Spouses-To File an Individual or Joint Petition - That
is the Question
Bankruptcy Lawyer Serving Hackensack and Teaneck, NJ
The Bankruptcy Code allows for joint filing of bankruptcy petitions for
married couples. In order to be able to file a joint bankruptcy petition
the debtors must be married and/or living together in a civil union. Although
in most cases, joint-filing is advised, for some it is not the best course
of action. In many cases, a filing by only one spouse makes sense if a
large portion of the debt owed is under the name of only one spouse, and
the other spouse has a good credit score with the three (3) National Credit
Reporting Agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This can occur in
a marriage when one person entering the marriage comes in with huge debts.
In the states of New Jersey and New York, married couples are not required
to file for bankruptcy protection jointly. If only one spouse files for
bankruptcy protection, the other spouse's credit rating would not
be affected and would not otherwise be involved in the bankruptcy proceeding.
The non-filing spouse often benefits from the Bankruptcy filing of the
other spouse, as the creditors are no longer able to call the debtor's
home. If any of the following circumstances apply to a married prospective
debtor it will most likely be more beneficial to file individually:
- The debts were incurred prior to the marriage
- The spouse not filing for bankruptcy did not incur any of the debtor's
debts which, of course, must be included in the filing spouse’ s
bankruptcy petition.
- If one spouse filed bankruptcy in the past 8 years, only one may be legally
able to file presently.
Looking for a lawyer for a bankruptcy case in Hackensack, NJ? If you need
more information on whether to file an individual or joint bankruptcy
petition call or contact our firm today to
meet with an experienced Teaneck bankruptcy attorney and discuss your case.