If all or most of the debts are in your name only, your spouse may not have to file. Creditors usually cannot pursue a non-filing spouse, unless he or she is legally a co-debtor on the debt. Additionally, the bankruptcy should not be reflected on the non-filing spouse's credit report. The law does vary, however, from state to state so make sure you speak with a Macey & Aleman bankruptcy attorney about whether or not your spouse has to file.

Yes. Joint ownership is no substitute for a carefully drafted Will. You may have property in your sole name which you have forgotten; you may inherit from others; you and your joint owner may die in a common accident; or a number of other reasons make it prudent to have a Will.

If both you and your spouse want to be released from the obligation of paying joint debts, you will both have to file. Otherwise, if just one spouse files, only that person is discharged on the debt. The other spouse will remain liable on the debt. However, a spouse has the right to file solely, without the permission of his or her spouse, regardless of the other spouse's obligation on joint debts.

Although joint property passes to the surviving joint tenant by right of survivorship, we would still recommend that you have a Last Will and Testament. Such Will should make provision for the division of your estate in the event that you and your spouse die more or less at the same time as a result of a common disaster, such as a motor vehicle accident.

Yes, many borrowers find it more convenient to combine their loans and send out only one payment each month.

If your married the law recognizes you as one entity and can file either together as a couple (jointly) or either spouse (husband or wife) can file on their own. The law does not require that both file.

You sometimes may benefit from filing separately instead of jointly. For example if one spouse has large medical expenses, miscellaneous itemized deductions, or casualty losses and the two spouses' incomes are about equal. We always prepare returns both ways and determine which is the most advantageous.

A power of attorney is a written instrument by which one person (the principal) designates someone as his or her agent or attorney in fact to perform certain acts. If it is "durable," it continues in effect even if the principal becomes incompetent. This can be very important if you or your spouse becomes incompetent. It can avoid the appointment of a guardian or conservator for the management of assets.

It depends on your tax situation. Sometimes you may benefit from filing separately instead of jointly but only if certain criteria are met. One example would both spouse have similar income and expenses but filing joint may cause certain of these expenses to be limited, then filling separately maybe an option. We always look at this filing separate issue for all our clients.

If you have financed your studies with loans under the Federal Stafford (Subsidized and Unsubsidized), Federal District, and Federal Perkins programs you may be eligible to consolidate some or all of these loans, no matter who holds them. If you consolidate your loans, your period of repayment may be extended and you will make one monthly payment for all consolidated loans. Caltech does not offer consolidation.

No, Student Loan Consolidator Private Consolidation Loans are limited to private loans belonging to one student. However, we would be happy to create a consolidation loan for your spouse as well, which would allow you to make your payments together.

Yes. A shared consolidation loan between spouses is available to you at your request. However, we sincerely do not recommend it because these loans include a joint-and-several liability clause that makes you financially responsible for repaying the portion of the debt owed by a deceased and disabled spouses, or possibly your ex-spouse too. Furthermore, to obtain a deferment for a consolidation loan between spouses, both partners must meet eligibility requirements for such a deferment.

Yes, in many cases borrowers who have already consolidated their loans and have also taken out additional loans can reconsolidate to combine their loans into one new loan. Also, many people who have consolidated are eligible to reconsolidate and receive additional borrower incentives that their company does not offer.

ConsoliDate allows you to select the date you would like all of your .com and .net domain names to renew. Renewal dates no longer have to be tied strictly to your initial registration date. ConsoliDate will make it easier to keep up with renewal dates, so they won't be scattered across the calendar.

To consolidate, you will need the Kardin Portfolio Consolidation. Once you have all the budget files available, you simply select the budget files you want to consolidate. There will be a whole new set of reports available to you on a consolidation basis that will allow you to see totals and also view trends among different properties. The only restrictions on your ability to consolidate files is that the budgets in each Portfolio must have the same Start Date and the same Chart of Accounts.

In Washington State, if you are not able to locate your spouse, you may still be able to file a marital dissolution and serve your spouse by publication. If you serve your spouse by publication, you may ask the Washington State court to end your marriage and divide any property and debts that are located in Washington State. You should think carefully before relying on service by publication, however.