Q: Married 11 years - spouse student loans excess of $90K incurred prior to marriage. 50/50 split of this debt if divorce?
Only paid interest on loans, not in my name, has filed for 10 year forgiveness plan
A: If they were incurred prior to the marriage, these debts are not normally considered marital debt, absence some finding of hardhship to the court.
A: While it’s true that the court *may* use its discretion and not divide this debt, the debt IS presumptively marital under Wisconsin Law, and thus presumed to be an equal debt. Whether that presumption is overcome will depend on many more facts than listed in your initial inquiry. For example, will you be asking for child support or maintenance now and will that support you will receive by much higher because of the degree obtained by use of the loans? There are many factors the judge might consider.
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