Public Guide
Individual and Joint Bankruptcy Filings for Married People
General information about individual and joint cases, household income, joint debt, property, community-property rules, and spouse disclosure.
The Bankruptcy Code permits a married individual to file alone and permits spouses to file a joint petition. The choice does not by itself remove the nonfiling spouse's income, property, debts, or state-law interests from every part of the analysis.
Official forms request household and spouse information in defined circumstances. The means-test marital adjustment, separate-household situations, and current-monthly-income rules are more specific than simply adding or excluding a spouse's paycheck.
Property consequences depend on title, state marital-property law, community-property law where applicable, exemptions, liens, and the bankruptcy estate. A discharge generally applies to the debtor's qualifying personal liability; it does not automatically discharge a nonfiling co-obligor.
Joint accounts and joint debts can remain relevant to creditors, credit reporting, collection from a nonfiling spouse, and administration of the estate. Chapter 13 also has a temporary codebtor stay for certain consumer debts, subject to statutory limits.
Official Sources
This page provides general information and does not recommend an individual or joint filing or determine how a spouse's income or property is treated.