What legal right do I have to receive copies of financial statements regarding my husbands business?
Full Question:
Answer:
Most business records are generally not public records and require a legal proceeding to be instituted before they can be required to be disclosed to a person who is not entitled to the records as part of the bylaws of the company. As part of a legal proceeding, business records can be requested, such as through a discovery request for production, through required accounting, or to be brought with a person summoned to court through a subpoena duces tecum.
If you and your spouse are jointly liable to a creditor, the bankruptcy of one spouse does not relieve the other of paying the debt. Upon a bankruptcy, the creditor may seek payment from the other, unless the bankruptcy case is under Chapter 13. If the debt is a consumer debt to be paid 100% through the Chapter 13 plan, the co debtor is protected by the codebtor stay in §1301.
If you have joint debts, you can expect the bankruptcy to be noted in some way on the credit record of the non filing spouse. The bankruptcy of one spouse will have some effect on the credit worthiness of the non filing spouse if they apply jointly in the future for a loan. The loan grantor will consider the credit rating of both applicants in making a lending decision.
Generally, marriage alone doesn't make both spouses personally liable for a debt. Liability on contracts such as home loans and credit cards arises by agreement between the creditor and the debtor, such as by being a cosigner, authorized user, or joint account holder. Only persons who signed the loan or credit application are liable for the debt. A joint tax return, however, makes both spouses liable for the total of the tax due.
When married taxpayers file a joint return, both taxpayers are jointly and severally liable for the tax and any additions to tax, interest, or penalties that arise as a result of the joint return even if they later divorce. Joint and several liability means that each taxpayer is legally responsible for the entire amount owed. The IRS will attempt to collect from either spouse even if a divorce decree states that a former spouse will be responsible for any amounts due on previously filed joint returns. One spouse may be held responsible for all the tax due even if the other spouse earned all the income or claimed improper deductions or credits. In some cases, a spouse can get relief from joint and several liability.
There are three types of relief from joint and several liability for spouses who filed joint returns:
1. Innocent Spouse Relief for additional tax you owe because your spouse or former spouse failed to report income, reported income improperly or claimed improper deductions or credits.
2. Relief by Separation of Liability provides for the allocation of additional tax owed between you and your spouse or former spouse because an item was not reported properly on a joint return. The tax allocated to you is the amount you are responsible for.
3. Equitable Relief may apply when you do not qualify for innocent spouse relief or separation of liability relief for something not reported properly on a joint return. You may also qualify for equitable relief if the correct amount of tax was reported on your joint return but the tax remains unpaid.
