Can wife’s student loan be considered marital debt in a Virginia divorce?
Yes, according to Dyne v. Dyne, decided by the Roanoke County Circuit Court in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a student loan incurred during the marriage and before the separation for the benefit of both parties can be considered joint marital debt for purposes of the allocation of debt in equitable distribution. In addition, the Virginia divorce court judge held that wife’s payments of the mortgage for the marital residence until it could be sold would be equally distributed along with the small profit from the sale of the home, husband’s share in the form of a small credit against his large debt to wife. Had wife allowed the house to go to a foreclosure auction resulting in a large deficiency, the parties may have been left with few options other than bankruptcy to discharge the debt. In Dyne, the wife argued her educational loans of $12,117.11 to become qualified to teach school in Virginia should be considered marital debts to be split with the husband. She claimed she incurred thes
