Common Law partner filing personal Bankrupcty how will I be affectedt?

I recently found out my boyfriend who I%26#039;ve lived with for 7 months has an outstanding credit card debt of 5 k.This debt is all on a credit card he had 5 years ago he never paid off and they are now taking him to court. I%26#039;ve been working two jobs to get me and to some extent us out of debt we had incurred when I was off work sick for a few months and didn%26#039;t qualify for unemployment sick pay, and he had been laid off at a greatly lower rate of pay then he would normally make. All debt in my name is paid off, things in his name still aren%26#039;t (we both decided we would pay off out own accumulated debt). He is thinking of filing personal bankruptcy because of this added debt, and the fact he will be laid off in September and I am going back to school. I was wondering how this would affect me, first off at 7 months living together am I considered common law? Will I be ordered to pay any of this off? Will they make me sell my personal possessions I had before him living with me? (computer/car)

Common Law partner filing personal Bankrupcty how will I be affectedt?

As you are not legally married you are not responsible for any of the debt he has accumulated years before meeting you. Common law %26quot;marriages%26quot; are not bound by all of the laws of a traditional marriage. There have been many new changes in the bankruptcy laws also concerning the filing on credit cards. If he has any other assets that can be sold to pay this or if he can make some type of payment arrangements (chapter 13) the credit card debt can no longer be written off in a bankruptcy. He should contact a bankruptcy lawyer to discuss this before he jumps in there. There is no charge for the initial consultation to see what can be done. Good luck to you and your boyfriend. You and your belongings are safe.

Common Law partner filing personal Bankrupcty how will I be affectedt?

If you%26#039;re not married you shouldn%26#039;t have any obligation at all.

Common Law partner filing personal Bankrupcty how will I be affectedt?

What state do you live in? Not all states even recognize %26quot;common law%26quot;, and it%26#039;s doubtful that living together for 7 months would qualify even in the ones that do.

What it will do is affect your joint credit if at some point you do decide to get married, and will affect things that you buy together (house, car, apartment lease, etc.). It shouldn%26#039;t affect anything that is solely in your name, or any personal possessions of yours.

You may also want to take a look at what this says about him and his attitude about personal responsibilities, if this is something that is habitual of his, or if it%26#039;s something he hid from you, or whatever. A lot of relationships break up because of financial problems and challenges.