When it comes to marriage and financial affairs many couples risk divorce because of overwhelming debt and financial troubles. As anyone who is married can attest to, marriage and debt can often be a volatile mix. But blaming your spouse for your financial problems can be counterproductive and even destructive to your relationship even if it really is their fault you’re in debt. Unfortunately, it is the natural tendency of human beings to look for the “source” of the problem. Fortunately, bankruptcy can give married couples a fresh start in their relationship by discharging their debt and giving them the opportunity to learn and implement new behaviors and habits that can strengthen their union as well as their finances. Here’s how:
- Bankruptcy does not seek to find blame. The bankruptcy system will not quiz you or your spouse on who did what and when. Bankruptcy only seeks to find out how much your debts are whether or not you can pay them. This will remove the pressure to find the source of the “problem” in your relationship. Instead, you can forgive and move forward.
- Bankruptcy removes the source of most marital arguments-debt, by discharging that debt and giving the couple the opportunity to use their income in more productive ways.
- Bankruptcy can protect the income of the couple and the assets using the automatic stay. This is especially important if one spouse is the one who made most or all of the financial mistakes that put the family into bankruptcy in the first place. Nothing creates more hostility in a marriage than having your income garnished from your bank account when your spouse was the one who did not pay his/her credit card bills.