VỢ TỰ Ý VAY TIỀN, CHỒNG CÓ PHẢI CÙNG TRẢ NỢ KHI LY HÔN KHÔNG?/IS THE HUSBAND LIABLE FOR REPAYING A D

Legal situation:

I work as a construction site supervisor, which often requires me to be away from home for extended periods. Due to my frequent absences, conflicts arose between my wife and me, and we were unable to resolve them. As a result, we decided to divorce to free ourselves from the ongoing disputes. Before signing the divorce petition, we discussed the asset division. It was only then that I discovered she had incurred a debt of VND 300 million. She insisted that if I wanted a divorce, I must pay 50% of this debt. However, I found this to be entirely unreasonable; I do not have anything to do with this debt. She had borrowed the money solely for gambling and personal indulgence, not for household expenses or family needs. Therefore, I refused to take responsibility for the debt. Under these circumstances, am I legally obligated to repay this debt?

FDVN’s opinion: 

Thank you for submitting your inquiry to FDVN Law Firm. In response to your request, after reviewing the relevant legal provisions, we would like to provide the following analysis:

According to Article 37 of the Law on Marriage and Family of 2014:

“1. Obligations arising from transactions jointly agreed upon by both spouses, obligations to compensate for damages that both spouses are responsible for according to legal provisions;

2. Obligations arising from the actions of one spouse to meet the essential needs of the family;

3. Obligations arising from the possession, use, or disposition of joint assets;

4. Obligations arising from the use of personal assets to maintain or develop the joint asset pool or to generate the family’s main income;

5. Obligations to compensate for damages caused by children, which parents are required to compensate according to the Civil Code;

6. Other obligations as stipulated by related laws.”

Moreover, Article 27 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates:

“1. The husband and wife are jointly responsible for transactions carried out by either party as regulated in Clause 1 of Article 30 or other transactions in accordance with the provisions on representation in Articles 24, 25, and 26 of this Law.

2. The husband and wife are jointly responsible for obligations stipulated in Article 37 of this Law.”

Based on the above regulations and considering the information provided by you, if the 300,000,000 VND debt your wife incurred was not with your consent or was not intended for essential family needs or transactions under Article 27 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, then you, as the husband, are not obliged to share responsibility for the debt in this case.

This is the legal advice of FDVN Law Firm based on an analysis of the relevant legal provisions. We hope this advice is helpful to you.

Trần Văn Quý – FDVN Law Firm

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