One of the most common questions married people ask me is can I file a bankruptcy without my spouse. A simple answer to this is yes. If you’re married filing a bankruptcy in Oklahoma its not a requirement that if one spouse files so must the other. But, like everything in bankruptcy its important you understand all the consequences and potential advantages involved depending on your decision.

Reason to File With Your Spouse

As a general rule I recommend that if one of the married parties is filing a bankruptcy its best that both do it together. One reason is that if you file together its cleaner and cheaper. Sometimes, if you have a marital debt like medical bills, the creditor will go after the other spouse who hasn’t filed. This is hard to believe but its true. The reason for this is that under Oklahoma law both spouses are responsible for the medical debt of the other. This means that if during the marriage one spouse  has a medical bill the medical provider can collect from either or both the parties.

Reason to File Without Your Spouse

Usually married people filing without their spouse do so because one of them has filed on their own and they aren’t eligible to file again yet. This is common and its okay to file alone when you’re married. In this case the majority of the debt the filing spouse has is separate. This is probably true if the married couple hasn’t been married for an extended time.

Another reason is may be that all of the bad debt is in only one spouses name. If the other spouse has good credit and its not a joint debt this is fine. If one of you file and the other doesn’t the credit score of the non-filing spouse wont be impacted at all.

As you can see the answer to the question can I file file a bankruptcy without my spouse is that you can but there may be consequences. If you’ve got questions regarding bankruptcy call our bankruptcy attorneys in Tulsa Oklahoma. We file cases throughout the state and would love to do the same for you.