How can one person in a marriage file bankruptcy and not affect the other's credit or home ownership A total wipe out of debt not a consolidation

A married couple has the option to file bankruptcy jointly, where both individiauls file for bankruptcy protection, or an individual spouse has the option to file independently.  If you choose to independently file, the other spouse may choose to also file independently, or not file at all.  If you choose to independently file without your spouse filing, he/she would not have an impact on his/her credit report for debts not jointly owned between the two spouses.  However, if you jointly own debt or property, including a home, then it may indirectly impact the non-filing spouse's credit or ownership rights in property.  This is due to the fact that joint debts and ownership in property may cause the non-filing spouse to become liable for all the debt after the bankruptcy filing.   For a good discussion on the benefits and problems associated with filing bankruptcy jointly visit: http://thismatter.com/money/credit/bankruptcy/joint-petitions.htm For more information on bankruptcy visit my website at www.alsobrooklaw.com. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.