YES, if you are married, you can still file a a bankruptcy on your own. You do not have to file with your spouse.
Why Might A Spouse Want to File Bankruptcy Without The Spouse
It is not uncommon for a married person to file a bankruptcy without their spouse. The reasons can include:
- The debtor and spouse have recently married and the nonfiling spouse does not owe any of the debt.
- The nonfiling spouse owes debt but can easily make the payments on that debt.
- The filing and nonfiling spouse do not get along and cannot work together to file a joint case.
- Filing before the other spouse files might bring a perceived legal advantage.
- The nonfiling spouse has significant non-exempt separate assets/property that might
Of course, other reasons exist.
The big point: If you are in financial distress, you do not need to convince or hunt down your spouse to file. If you need relief, you can get it.
Free Initial Consultation
As you know by now, we offer a free initial consultation to help you determine if bankruptcy or a non-bankruptcy option works for you. When you are married, you might have some defenses not available to others, e.g., “marital bankruptcy” rule. Just ask and we’ll let you know.
