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If a wife pays a husband’s debt is it OK? Risks

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Scott
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Scott Nelson

Managing Director

MoneyNerd’s founder, Scott Nelson, has a decade of financial industry experience, including 6 years in FCA regulated loan and credit card companies. Troubled by a lack of conscience in the industry, he founded MoneyNerd to give genuine advice to those in debt and struggling financially.

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Janine
Janine Marsh Profile Picture

Janine Marsh

Financial Expert

Janine Marsh is an award-winning presenter and a valuable member of the MoneyNerd team. With a wealth of experience as a financial expert, she's been featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Local Radio, and BBC Five Live, and is a regular on Co-op Radio.

Learn more about Janine
· Feb 6th, 2024
Could you legally write off some debt? Answer below to get started.

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For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.

For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.

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Can A Wife Pay A Husband's Debt

For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.

Are you thinking about paying your husband’s debt? If you’re not sure if it’s okay or what risks might come up, you’re in the right place to find answers. Every month, more than 170,000 people come to our website for advice on debt matters, just like you.

In this article, we’re going to talk about:

  • Whether or not your credit files are linked.
  • What to do if you’re worried about your husband’s debt.
  • How to handle joint debts.
  • What happens if you decide to pay your husband’s debt.
  • How much debt is too much.

We understand that dealing with debt can be scary, especially when it’s not your own. But don’t worry; our team has been in your shoes before, and they’re here to help you through it. Let’s explore your options and find the best solution for you and your husband.

Could you legally write off some debt?

There are several debt solutions in the UK, choosing the right one for you could write off some of your unaffordable debt, but the wrong one may be expensive and drawn out.

Answer below to get started.

How much debt do you have?

This isn’t a full fact find. MoneyNerd doesn’t give advice. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options.

Wife pays a husband’s debt – is it OK?

There are many reasons as to why you might want a completely clean financial slate between you and your partner.

It is absolutely OK for a wife to pay her husband’s debt – at the end of the day, the creditor will simply want to recoup their losses and get you back up to speed. 

Things can get trickier if the debts themselves are untenable and it isn’t possible for the wife to pay the husband’s debt.

In these instances, it may be better for one of you to opt for a Debt Management Plan where you slowly whittle away the debt piece by piece. 

If things are really serious, you may have to consider bankruptcy or insolvency. This works best if the person with the most debts has the lower income, or if you have an equal amount of debt and roughly equal income.

Consequences of a wife paying her husband’s debts

You may be wondering the consequences of a wife paying a husband’s debts. Well, there aren’t really any consequences.

If a wife pays a husband’s debt, it will actually help both of them financially.

However, you may be wondering why you should pay a husband’s debts – after all, they’re nothing to do with you.

Unfortunately, as we mentioned earlier in the article, if both of you have marks on your credit file, you won’t be able to get very far with regards to opening a joint account or anything like that.

So paying off the debt will help with this. You may have even benefited from some of the things the husband got into debt for as well.

How a debt solution could help

Some debt solutions can:

  1. Stop nasty calls from creditors
  2. Freeze interest and charges
  3. Reduce your monthly payments

A few debt solutions can even result in writing off some of your debt.

Here’s an example:


Situation

Monthly income £2,504
Monthly expenses £2,345
Total debt £32,049

Monthly debt repayments

Before £587
After £158

£429 reduction in monthly payments

If you want to learn what debt solutions are available to you, click the button below to get started.

Get Started

Liability for a partner’s debts

Sometimes you may choose to help with your partners debts, for instance if a wife pays a husband’s debt.

One thing that frightens a lot of people is whether they end up becoming personally liable for their partners debts. 

You can only be held responsible for the debts that are either in your name, or the ones that you hold jointly with your partner.

With joint accounts, if your partner isn’t forthcoming with the payments, the creditor could demand that you pay the full amount, which might end up being a fair bit. 

Are your credit files linked?

There is a common belief that when you get married, your credit file or credit score will end up being linked to your spouse in a joint credit file. This is not the case however. 

The only time you will have a linked account is when you open or agree to a joint credit agreement, meaning that marriage won’t affect your credit file.

When it comes to a wife settling a husband’s debt, she isn’t necessarily obliged to do it unless she has a joint account.

Thousands have already tackled their debt

Every day our partners, The Debt Advice Service, help people find out whether they can lower their repayments and finally tackle or write off some of their debt.

Natasha

I’d recommend this firm to anyone struggling with debt – my mind has been put to rest, all is getting sorted.

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Joint debts

So marriage won’t link your credit files. But joint credit applications will make you both liable.

While having a joint account can be great for couples with a solid financial history, if either one of you has a background of defaults, it can hurt the others credit file.  

Creditors may look up either one of you to find out about your previous credit history. This could impact any future credit applications you may wish to make.

If a wife pays a husband debt is it OK
Source: MSE Forum.

If either one of you has any financial skeletons in the closet, it could be best to keep your finances separate and work on rebuilding the credit file together.

In these instances, the consequence of the wife paying off the husband’s debt could be an accepted joint credit agreement. 

Could you legally write off some debt?

Answer below to get started.

How much debt do you have?

This isn’t a full fact find. MoneyNerd doesn’t give advice. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options.

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The authors
Scott Nelson Profile Picture
Author
MoneyNerd’s founder, Scott Nelson, has a decade of financial industry experience, including 6 years in FCA regulated loan and credit card companies. Troubled by a lack of conscience in the industry, he founded MoneyNerd to give genuine advice to those in debt and struggling financially.
Janine Marsh Profile Picture
Debt Expert
Janine Marsh is an award-winning presenter and a valuable member of the MoneyNerd team. With a wealth of experience as a financial expert, she's been featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Local Radio, and BBC Five Live, and is a regular on Co-op Radio.