Dividing student loan debt in a divorce can get very complicated. Everybody knows that during a divorce, spouses must divide up their assets. But not everybody realizes that they also divide their debts. Divvying up student loan debt depends a lot on when you took out the loan as well as what the money was for. It also is important to lay out who benefitted from the loan. A judge will take into account many things when deciding to divide up marital assets. There isn’t any one answer on how loans are split. However, the goal of any judge is to make things fair and equitable for both parties. The best way to ensure that you are getting the best settlement possible is to hire an experienced divorce attorney to represent you.

Dividing Student Loan Debt in a Divorce: What Happens to Debt?

Pre-Marital vs. Marital Debt

When dividing student loan debt in a divorce, a judge will ask “when did you take out the loan?”. If you got the loan before marriage, then it is not a marital debt. Therefore, your spouse would likely not take on any of the debt during a divorce. However, the loan is a marital debt if you were in school when you married. Or if you took the loan out after marriage. In this case, a judge will decide how to split it fairly.

Where Did the Money Go?

Another question that a judge will try to answer is “where did the money go?”. If you used the money on something like housing, then your spouse also benefitted from it too. In this situation, they might be responsible for some of the debt. However, if it was entirely for tuition, a judge is more likely to assign the debt only to the student.

Who Benefitted from the Loan?

When trying to divide student loan debt in a divorce, a judge will also look at who benefitted from the loan. For example, if you divorce right after graduation, then your spouse is not likely to benefit at all from the loan. However, if your spouse graduated and used the credentials to get a high-paying job for many years before the divorce, then you did benefit. A judge is more likely to split the debt if you benefit from the money and your spouse’s education.

The Big Picture

While there are many factors that a judge takes into consideration when dividing student loan debt into a divorce, they are mostly looking at the big picture. For example, they will take into consideration things like each of your salaries and assets. They’ll also consider alimony and other spousal support payments. The goal is to divide your marital assets and debts equitably. When a judge is dividing student loan debt into a divorce, things can get a little messy. Just as with all aspects of divorce, a lot of factors contribute to the divvying up of debt. A judge will look at when you took out the loan as well as what you spent the money on. They’ll also think about who benefitted from the money and how it fits into the overall picture of your financial health as a couple. The goal of any divorce proceeding is to split up marital assets, property, and debts in a way that is fair to both parties. Hopefully, if you have concerns about student loan debt, your divorce attorney can help you navigate them and ensure that you get the settlement you are entitled to.