Are you concerned about cash advances or credit card purchases before or during a divorce in Louisville? Unfortunately, this is a common challenge our clients face in the months leading up to a divorce, or once the decision to end the marriage has been reached. In some cases it is “payback” for a perceived slight such as infidelity. In other cases it can be a somewhat subconscious reaction to the end of a marriage and an emotional effort to deal with that reality.
The division of assets and debts is typically one of the most fiercely contested issues during a divorce. But what the parties may not realize is the fair allocation of debts can be just as important. This gets even more challenging when it comes to the difficult task of trying to trace the origin of and reason for debt.
Cash advances or credit card purchases before or during a divorce are unfortunately quite common. A typical example could be something like a large cash advance on a joint credit card. Cash advances often lack direct documentation as to how the cash funds were used. If you are going through a divorce, and your spouse put a large cash advance on your shared credit card then used that money for their personal use you need to contact our proven, experienced Divorce and family law attorneys to ensure that this debt is properly allocated so that you are not unfairly held to be legally responsible.
Cash advances or credit card purchases before or during a divorce are a genuine issue in most cases. If live in the Louisville area and beginning the process of divorce one of the first steps you should consider is to cancel all joint credit cards that are in your name. You need to protect yourself from having additional debt being added to a balance for which you still share some portion of responsibility. If your spouse has already taken a large cash advance against your joint credit account, you are at very high risk that they might do it again.
When you get a divorce in the state of Kentucky assets and debts are divided through a process known as marital property distribution. While the presumption of most parties is roughly a 50% / 50% split our laws don’t stipulate assets and debts will be shared equally between the spouses. In many cases it is actually quite the contrary.
Kentucky Family Law requires assets and debts to be distributed in a manner which is equitable and ‘fair’. If your spouse unfairly incurred cash advances or credit card purchases before or during a divorce it may not be ’fair’ to for the Court to equally distribute that debt.
Document everything. Get all of your credit card statements together. If you were already “separated” from your spouse the court can characterize that debt as “separate.” Separate debts belong only to the spouse who incurred the debt. An attorney experienced with cases involving the allocation of marital property in divorce can help you prove this debt and then fight it.
If you are in the process of divorce and your spouse has made cash advances or credit card purchases before or during a divorce it is important that you speak with Dodd & Dodd to ensure that this debt is fairly allocated.
We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced divorce and family law attorneys.
