Marital debts, like marital assets, will be divided according to the law on equitable distribution as set forth in § 61.075, F.S. Marital debts include liabilities incurred during the marriage, whether individually by either spouse or jointly by both. Non-marital debts include liabilities incurred by either party prior to the marriage. Parties in an uncontested proceeding who divide their debts between themselves may enter into a Property Settlement Agreement which will be incorporated into the final judgment of their divorce. In a contested proceeding where parties are unable to reach an agreement on their own, the court will set apart each party’s non-marital debts and will distribute their marital debts in a judgment or order containing written factual findings based on competent substantial evidence. The cut-off date for determining the identification or classification of marital debts is the earlier of the date the parties enter into a valid separation agreement, such other date as may be expressly established by such agreement, or the date the petition for dissolution is filed. The date for determining the amount of marital debts is the date or dates as the judge determines is just and equitable under the specific circumstances. Please be aware that even if you are not held in your divorce to be legally responsible for all or part of a joint debt, your credit card company or other creditor may still seek to collect the debt from you.