Deception and divorce often come hand-in-hand. Maybe someone misled their spouse about who they were and revealed their true colors after walking down the aisle. Maybe after years of marriage another sexual partner proved too tempting to pass up. Maybe a spouse lies about being happy for so long that ultimately the opportunity to fix the union passes a couple by.
There are various modes of deception, and they can all most certainly lead to divorce. Researchers followed a population of men and women and surveyed them regarding their spending habits, honesty about those habits and their marriages. As it turns out, deceptive credit card use can be pretty costly, in more ways than one.
According to the research, so-called “secret credit card spending” was cited in about 10 percent of the subjects’ divorces. The details of each of the divorce cases are not provided, but the finding opens up the door to discuss an important matter in the bankruptcy world.
Though some troubles can be put behind couples when they divorce, the trouble of debt doesn’t magically disappear by splitting up. Debt can be a stressor that leads to divorce. In those cases, debt most definitely must be a matter that parties address during the divorce process.
Financial hardships remain and can often get worse after divorce, making filing for bankruptcy a common need for some. At that point, a bankruptcy attorney should discuss the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy in New Jersey, and how debt divided during divorce can be treated differently based on which option parties utilized.
Divorce and bankruptcy can both be extremely stressful life events. The good news is that, if the processes are addressed effectively, both can provide parties with a much-needed fresh start.
Huffington Post, “Secret Credit Card Spending And Divorce Linked In New Survey,” Oct. 14, 2013
