Neighbor News
Student Loans & Marriage
A simple explanation of the impact student loans on your financial picture.
Student loans make up a large part of many people’s debt. So let’s talk about how student loans figure into the greater marital financial picture.
1. In most states, student loans incurred before the marriage, even when living together, are considered separate property.
2. In most states, responsibility for the loan repayment can be included in a pre-nup.
3. If married when the loans were obtained, division of the obligation, usually, but not always goes to the person who benefited from the loan.
4. Divorce courts, particularly in equitable distribution states, usually have the discretion to divide the loans “equitably”.
5. Although not a student loan, and depending on the state where you reside, a professional degree earned during marriage, can be considered marital property.
What does that mean? If you worked and paid for your spouse to earn a law or medical degree, for instance, or delayed your own education, some courts will offset the value of the degree.
