This concept will be explored in more depth later in this article. First, some general information on responsibility for debts and liabilities for one's spouse and children. Spouses can have direct and indirect legal responsibility for debts or liabilities. Direct responsibility occurs when a spouse signs an instrument or contract obligating himself or herself. A common example would be an application for credit.
Indirect liability is based on agency principles and the doctrine of necessaries.
A spouse does not act as an agent for the other spouse solely because of the marriage relationship. Each parent has the duty to support his or her child during the period that the child is a minor, and thereafter as long as the child is fully enrolled in an accredited secondary school in a program leading toward a high school diploma until the end of the school year in which the child graduates. A spouse or a parent who fails to discharge the duty of support is liable to any person who provides necessaries to those to whom support is owed. At a minimum, necessaries include food, clothing, shelter, and non-elective medical care. As stated above, what property can be taken to satisfy a debt depends on the management rights of that property.