Question: After nine years of my husband gambling away our income and assets, I filed for divorce. After our case was concluded, I tried to get a credit card but was denied because he apparently “maxed out” a credit card in both of our names. This was not disclosed in our divorce. I never saw the bills, and he apparently never paid this one but had it sent to a post office box so I wouldn’t know about it. So now my credit history is bad, and I'm not responsible for it. What can I do?

Answer: It is inconceivable that this obligation was “overlooked” in the divorce process because by simply getting your credit report, you – and your lawyer -- could have learned about it and made efforts to deal with it. Of course, while the Family Court could have required your husband to pay the debt – and enforced its order through contempt – the court could not have changed the contractual obligation with the credit card company.

We suggest that your first order of business is to contact the credit card company and get a copy of the contract that opened the account to see if you signed to be responsible for any debts incurred. Some cards are issued so that both husband and wife can use the card, but with only one party being responsible. If you did not sign, you may have an out; however, in most states, husbands and wives are responsible for the “necessaries” of each other, and you could still be responsible, under state law, for food, shelter, clothing, and medical care that may have been charged by your husband.

If you did sign, report your situation, in writing, to the creditor so that this may be taken into account if you apply for an individual account. If you are denied credit from anyone when you apply for an individual account, you have the right, by law, to know exactly why your application was turned down. Check your credit report to see if there are inaccuracies and give the creditor additional information to show that you are a good credit risk. If this doesn't work, find out which credit services are being used and apply to each individually for correction of your record. This will take time, but detailing that your ex was responsible might help your record.

Question: My soon-to-be-ex-husband and I have agreed on property, custody, and all financial questions, but not on child support. He refuses to negotiate a monthly amount I am comfortable with, saying that he has no guarantee that the money will be used solely for the children. I know that a judge can order a set amount, but I would like to avoid that. How can we do it without a war?

Answer: Every state legislature has passed child support guideline legislation that can be found on the Internet. While formulas vary from state to state, these statutes set certain minimums that will be paid, regardless of what your soon?to?be ex thinks about how the money he pays will be used. If you are trying to avoid having a judge set the amount, you are making a mistake, given the recalcitrant attitude of your spouse.

Under these circumstances, we believe that you should hire an attorney and find out not only how much child support you will be receiving, but also whether or not the rest of your settlement is fair. You might consider going to your husband one more time to try to get things resolved, but we believe that if he is being unreasonable about the child support, he may be a controlling individual with whom you cannot deal without legal assistance.