Debts First, Then Consolidate, Then Pay Off Common Bills?

Q: both my spouse and i have outstanding (unpaid) debts from college days. how does the law view those debts once we tie the knot? and how do some of you married people handle your joint incomes? do you consolidate your paychecks first then pay the bills? or do you pay off individual debts first, then consolidate, then pay off common bills? i realize that the method should not matter, and that it is a question of personal taste, but i just need to know how others do it. please email me responses if you don't want to post. i'm more interested in the law than the personal stuff.

A: Different people handle things different ways, as I have in a couple of situations. In my first marriage we just followed the standard "throw everything into a big pot" concept. We got a joint checking account, deposited each of our paychecks into it, paid the bills and then used whatever (if anything) was left over, etc. This proved to be a financial nightmare to me; I never really felt like I knew what was going on with the checking account. This time around, my bride-to-be and I are going to maintain separate checkbooks. During the course of the month either of us will take care of various bills, we'll go in halves on the mortgage, and then at the end of the month we'll settle up on joint expenses. After that our money

is ours to do with as each of us individually sees fit. Some people would see this as too cold or separate, but it suits our individualistic temperaments and has worked well for us in three years of cohabitation. As far as your legal liability for your spouse's debts incurred before marriage goes, I was under the impression that you're not liable unless you signed on the loan. (This is the concept behind married people being able to get separate credit.) On the other hand, there may be a few wrinkles there -- if your spouse died the creditors might come after the estate. This may also vary from state to state. You might want to take this up on misc.legal.