Myth: If I'm married my spouse has to file too

It is not true that a married person must file a joint petition in bankruptcy with his or her spouse. The law allows any individual, regardless of marital status, to file an individual petition in bankruptcy. Several factors should be taken into consideration, however, before making the final decision to leave one's spouse out of the filing.

Even if not filing a joint petition, the law treats married couples as a single economic unit and, as such, the income and documenting proof of the non-filing spouse's income is taken into account when calculating the income threshold and means test for qualification under Chapter 7. Additionally, under Illinois law, certain debts incurred for the benefit of the family can be pursued against a spouse, regardless of whether or not that spouse is in any way associated with the debt. In particular, medical debt incurred in the name of only one spouse can be collected from the other spouse when one files for bankruptcy. It would be a shame to leave a spouse out of a case that could have been filed jointly, only to have to later file a separate case for the non-filing spouse, because the creditors discharged in the first case are now coming after him or her under those laws.