How Does Gambling Debts Affect My Divorce

Many divorces are caused by one spouse’s alcoholism or gambling addiction. The Courts recognize that alcoholism and gambling addictions are diseases. However, in many of those divorces, the spouse’s addiction has caused the parties to suffer severe debts or financial strain. This article will focus on how a spouse’s gambling addiction can affect your divorce.

When considering gambling, if your spouse’s gambling was only done infrequently or only resulted in small amount of losses, then the court may not consider that in its decision. Generally, a court will only consider a spouse’s gambling when it resulted in large spending and/or large losses.

It is important to note, that the general rule is that marital assets are typically divided evenly and that marital debts are divided 50% to each party. Yet, if one spouse was gambling the party’s funds, the court may consider that in dividing the party’s debts or their assets. If the court believes that one spouse wasted marital assets or marital funds with their gambling addiction, then the court may grant you a larger share of the marital assets or decide that you have to pay a lesser share of the marital debt.

However, the court may also consider that you encouraged or condoned your spouse’s gambling habit. You may have gone with your spouse to the casino etc. In those situations, the court may not sympathize with your situation and decide that you only get 50% or the assets and/or still have to pay 50% of the debts.

If your spouse was engaged in gambling, then you will have to demonstrate to the court the extent of your spouse’s gambling habit and also that you did not approve of the gambling. You can show that your spouse took large withdrawals at a casino or that they charged large amounts on a credit card at a casino. If your spouse’s gambling habit was at a different venue, you can show the spending at that venue. In addition, to show that you didn’t approve of the gambling, you can produce emails or text messages.

If you are considering getting divorced, and your spouse’s gambling addiction is one of the causes of the divorce, then you need an attorney who can protect you. Visit us on Facebook to get important legal news, tips, and articles: www.facebook.com/BadanesLawOffice.