Question from WA State...about credit cards

Washington is a community property state, so generally, any debt incurred by one spouse is also the debt of the other spouse. That being said, the creditors usually try to collect from only the person who signed up for the credit card, unless they are filing a lawsuit to collect a delinquent account. When a lawsuit is filed, creditors often name the person on the card, as well as "John Doe" or "Jane Doe" spouse. If they are successful in obtaining a judgment, the judgment will be good against the cardholder AND the spouse, and they do try to collect against the non-card holder spouse.

Washington is a community property state. That means that any debts incurred during the marriage are presumed to be for the benefit of the marital community; and, therefore both spouses are liable. It does not matter if only one spouse signed up for the credit card. There are exceptions to that rule; however, they are very case specific. For example, if you were still married but the debt was incurred after an irretrievable breakdown of the relationship or if the debt was determined to be a dissipation of assets, then you could avoid liability. The problem is that these exceptions to community liability are hard to prove and usually require litigation. Depending on your financial and marital situation, you should consider talking to a bankruptcy lawyer or a family lawyer.