Does the husband and the wife have to both file bankruptcy if the wife has all the credit card debt in her name and student loans in her name only?

No, the spouse can file bankruptcy by him/herself.  If you live in a community property state, then the non-filing spouse will be protected by the discharge even for debts the non-filing spouse owes (unless that non-filing spouse has separate property assets).  I have no idea what kind of laws Kentucky has so you should consult with an attorney there, but there's no reason for you both to file that I can see.   Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr