The Rules:
The rules for debts roughly follow those for property division. Again, the basic concept is that debts acquired before marriage are separate debts of the acquirer, debts acquired during marriage are generally community debts and debts acquired after separation are generally the debts of the acquirer. However, again debt payment obligations can be moved around by the court from one party to another when it appears equitable to the court to do so.
Please Note:
Whatever the court orders with regard to payment of debts is of no interest to a creditor. A creditor can still require payment from the person with whom the creditor had the deal. This can be a real problem for a spouse who does not receive an asset under the final decree and yet as far as the creditors are concerned is still obligated on the debt. A very common example of this is a mortgage on a house. In order to get ones' name off this debt, the other spouse may have to completely refinance the loan, thereby extinguishing the former debt, or the house may have to be sold and the debt paid out of the proceeds. Check to see you have listed all relevant debts by filling out the Asset and Liability Checklist.