First, put the debt in the right place
Debt secured by an asset belongs against that asset on the FL-142. Unsecured obligations belong in the debt section. Identify the creditor, last four digits, balance date, amount and the person whose name is on the account.
Timing and purpose can matter
California’s statutory debt-allocation rules distinguish obligations in ways a single current balance cannot show. Capture when the obligation was incurred, what it funded, whether it followed separation, and whether it relates to common necessities, an asset, taxes or support.
Allocation does not bind the creditor
An agreement between spouses can allocate responsibility and create indemnity duties, but it does not ordinarily remove a borrower from the creditor’s contract. A safe implementation plan considers payoff, refinance, closure, monitoring, deadlines and what happens after a missed payment.
Continue the workflow
Unsecured and other debts on California form FL-142
What to identify, document and check when listing unsecured and other debts on a California Schedule of Assets and Debts.
What “equal division” means in a California property case
How California Family Code section 2550 relates to equal division, asset allocation and equalizing payments.
A safer California property-settlement workflow
A four-stage workflow from disclosure inventory through legal analysis, allocation, drafting and implementation.