Can a husband be ordered to pay part of his stay-at-home wife’s student loan debts in a Virginia divorce?
The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a divorce court’s equitable distribution ruling that a husband be ordered to pay 25% of his wife student loan debt incurred during the marriage, even though she did not work until after the parties separated, in the unpublished opinion of Layne v. Layne, Record No. 0978-09-3, October 20, 2009, . The court restated the general rule that debt incurred during the marriage is presumed to be marital debt. In this case, the wife testified that she used the student loans for household expenses. Even though husband would not benefit from wife’s education, the family benefited from the proceeds of the student loan debts.
In addition, the trial court found that the condominium owned by husband before the marriage was hybrid property, part separate and part marital, in which the wife had an interest since the parties had lived in the property for a year and rented it out for several years while they were married. The divorce court found that the wife’s contributions to the real property were more than nominal and that she should be entitled to share in its appreciation by receiving half the marital share of the property.
You should consult with your Virginia divorce lawyer concerning the equitable distribution of your marital property and debts.