Wedded to Debt 

By RACHEL LOUISE ENSIGN

Wedding season is winding down and newlyweds now have the rest of their lives to spend with each other—and each other's debt.

Young adults are carrying heavy debt loads from student loans, credit cards and even mortgages. That means new spouses need to know the rules regarding debt that was accrued before and after the wedding. And couples will need to develop a realistic plan to pay it off.

One crucial thing to know is that you generally aren't legally responsible for any debt your new spouse took on before you tied the knot. Many people think they're legally obligated to help a spouse pay off the balance, says Rod Griffin, director of public education at credit-reporting firm Experian.
But there are exceptions. If you put your name on a loan's promissory note or add yourself as a joint account holder of a credit card, you'll likely become responsible for any debt your spouse took on before marriage, says John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com. That also means the debt will likely show up on your credit report.

You may be responsible for debt your new husband or wife takes on after the wedding even if your name isn't on the account or loan. The laws surrounding this are complicated and vary by state, says Margaret Klaw, a family-law attorney in Philadelphia.

Regardless of when the debt was accrued, figuring out how to pay it off should be a joint effort, experts say.

When Tiffany and Travis Castleman married in 2009, Ms. Castleman had debt including about $10,000 in student loans, and she and her husband each had a mortgage of more than $200,000—and in both cases the mortgage was more than the value of their Washington, D.C.-area homes.

For the first six months, they kept separate bank accounts and paid down their own loans. But since they had shared expenses and, more recently, had two children, they decided to merge their finances and pay the mortgages and student loan from the now-communal accounts.

A forthright discussion of their debt loads pre-marriage was key to making their payment plan work, says Ms. Castleman, 31. They paid down her student loans and each found renters for the two properties, which helped cover those mortgage payments. They now live in a home they purchased together.

If you didn't have an honest, detailed discussion about your debt and credit histories before the nuptials, do it now. "It's not the most exciting date to sit down and talk about your credit cards. But it's an important one. It'll help you get off on the right foot financially," says Mr. Griffin.

Lay out what you each owe, including all minimum monthly payments and interest rates, says Mr. Ulzheimer. Even if you decide to pay off those debts separately, knowing the specifics of the other's liabilities may help you adjust your household budget accordingly.

Katie and Evan Orem, 25 and 26 respectively, are paying off her $90,000 in student loans together. The Rochester, N.Y., couple designed their budget around the debt load, buying a multifamily property for rental income and deciding that Mr. Orem would work while attending graduate school.
Before Paul and Ann Jarvis got married in 2006, they sat down and examined the student-loan debt they were bringing into the union: about $65,000 for her and about $25,000 for him. After the wedding, they decided to tackle his debt first, since Mr. Jarvis—now 30 and a certified financial planner in Fargo, N.D.—had private student loans with variable rates that were at risk of rising.

Then they used a home-equity loan on the house they jointly own to pay off her student-loan balance. He's a co-signer on that home-equity loan and therefore is liable for it.

"If you co-sign, you're on the hook," says Mr. Jarvis.
—Email: rachel.ensign@wsj.com