Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

When considering in a Florida divorce whether or not a spouse should be responsible for student loans taken out during the marriage by the other spouse, some believe it would not be fair to have the non-incurring spouse help pay the loan because that spouse will not benefit from the degree earned by the student spouse after the parties’ divorce. Some may also object to paying because they objected to the spouse going to school during the marriage and believed the spouse should have instead been working. This issue arose in Tsacrios v. Tsacrios, 1D19-914 (Fla. 1st DCA November 6, 2019).

In the final judgment of divorce, the trial court found over $10,000.00 in student loans incurred by the former husband to be non-marital even though the loans were incurred during the marriage. As the appellate opinion cites: “The trial court declared this debt nonmarital because the family would have been in a better financial position if the husband had been working rather than attending school.” The former husband appealed.

Under Florida law, debts incurred during the marriage are marital, and a party claiming they are not marital have the burden to show how or why the spouses should not be jointly responsible for them. The fact that a spouse will not benefit from the degree after divorce is not a reason to make the other spouse fully responsible for the debt. Accordingly, the appellate court reversed the trial court’s decision on this issue, holding “We agree with the former husband that the trial court did not state a valid basis to rule that the debt was nonmarital, and reverse on this issue. See § 61.075(8), Fla. Stat.; see also Rogers v. Rogers, 12 So. 3d 288, 291 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) ("As a general proposition, student loan debt incurred during the marriage is a marital liability.").”

Want to know if there are any arguments you may have to make your spouse fully responsible for his or her student loan debt? Schedule a consultation with a Miami divorce lawyer to go over the facts of your case so you can receive advice meant specifically for you and your situation.