Divorcing NY Husband Must Pay Portion of Wife’s Student Loans

New York case summary on student loans in divorce.

Joseph M. Santamaria v Toni Santamaria

The husband and wife in this Suffolk County, New York, case were married in 2000 and had two children.  The wife filed for divorce in 2013, and the trial court decided a number of issues involving custody, child support, maintenance, and property.  One of the issues involved the wife’s student loan debt.  Under the court’s judgment, the wife was ordered to pay only $20,000 of the debt, rather than the full amount of $52,000.

The husband appealed to the Appellate Division and raised a number of issues, including the propriety of the lower court’s order with respect to the student loans.  After addressing the other issues in the case, the Appellate Division turned to the issue of the student loan.

The general rule is that each spouse is required to pay his or her own student loan debts, in cases where no benefit inured to the marriage.  However, the rule is different if the marriage benefitted from the student loan.  In this case, the wife attained a degree in business administration, and the degree was earned during the marriage.  Prior to obtaining her degree, the wife was able to work only as a waitress at a limited salary.  But at the time of trial, she had been employed as a headhunter, and earned a salary of $50,000, plus commissions.

The appeals court held that the marriage had thus been benefitted by the degree, and that it was not unreasonable for the trial court to direct the husband to pay a portion of the student loans.  It noted that the loans were incurred during the marriage and had been owed since 2005.

For these reasons, the Appellate Division affirmed the lower court’s resolution with respect to the student loans.

No. 2016-05426(N.Y.A.D. Oct. 16,  2019).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Property Division in Tennessee Divorce.