Opinion ID: 1647534
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Additional Debt

Text: The wife also complains that the district court failed to consider and allocate the debt incurred on a particular VISA credit card account held in her name. There is no question that in dividing marital property, the trial court should take into consideration the indebtedness of the parties in order to divide the net marital estate. See Keim v. Keim, 228 Neb. 684, 424 N.W.2d 112 (1988). See, also, Black v. Black, 221 Neb. 533, 536, 378 N.W.2d 849, 851 (1985) ([w]e have consistently spoken of dividing the net marital estate (emphasis in original)). The wife testified that she possessed her own VISA credit card account, which had approximately $1,500 to $1,600 in debt. She also testified that this debt was incurred for our boat [and] some ... for our handicapped child. Consequently, the wife has asked the husband to share responsibility in paying off her VISA debt by contributing $500. The husband's VISA credit card account was paid off prior to separation out of the joint account of the parties, but he, personally, had incurred an additional $1,200 in debt thereon. The subject decree simply requires the husband to pay off VISA. Although it is unclear to which VISA account the district court makes reference, it appears that the court was obligating the husband to pay off his own account. Concluding that the wife's VISA account was not addressed and since the evidence is uncontroverted that part of the $1,500 to $1,600 debt was incurred for family expenses, we determine it was error for the district court to ignore disposition of the debt incurred on the wife's VISA account; accordingly, the husband is to pay $500 toward the retirement of this debt.