Separation or divorce from a partner or spouse is an extremely traumatic experience. But if debts are involved the process of how these are dealt with needs to be understood.

As a general rule you cannot become liable for any debts taken out by someone else even if they are your partner or you are married to them unless the debt was signed for in joint names. As such if your partner has taken debt in their name you are not liable to repay this on their behalf if you split up.

Even if your partner took out a loan in their name and you spent the money on yourself legally speaking they are entirely responsible for the repayment of the debt not you.

Who is responsible for debt after a relationship break down?

If you borrow money in your name on behalf of your partner then you as the individual who borrowed the money and who is named on the loan account remain liable for repaying the entire debt even if all of the money was spent for your partner’s benefit.

This arrangement can work very well while a relationship remains intact particularly if one partner has a poor credit rating and cannot borrow in their own name. However if the relationship subsequently breaks down and your ex refuses to make further contributes towards the repayment of a debt then the creditor can take legal action against you but is not able to do the same to them.

BMD Tip: What is more if you do not pay your credit rating will be damaged making it difficult for you to get more credit for example a mortgage in the future. However your partner’s credit rating will not be affected.

The fact is that there is generally very little you can do if this situation occurs. The only way to try and secure help for the repayment of a debt incurred in this way is to try to make a claim against your ex partner in court. However, this would be an expensive process with probably little chance of success.

Can you protect yourself?

It is not easy to protect yourself from being left with the responsibility for repaying debt incurred while in a relationship.

One thing you could do is ensure that debt taken out for the benefit of you both is borrowed in joint names. However, this is not always possible if one party already has a poor credit rating or does not have enough income to support the loan application.

Even if you do borrow in joint names, this does not really protect you after a relationship break down. If you split from your partner, you both remain jointly liable for 100% of the debt. The bank will continue to chase you individually until 100% of the debt is repaid.

It is not uncommon for people to find themselves in a situation where they have been left with debt because of a relationship breakdown.

If you find yourself in this position, you should take advice as soon as possible. Very often if you continue to struggle to make ends meet you will end up robbing Peter to pay Paul – borrowing from one creditor to pay another. This will normally just make to situation worse.