Bankruptcy and divorce

1) Will your credit be affected if your ex files for bankruptcy later? Not unless you are discharging a joint debt. Your ex cannot add you to a bankruptcy petition without your knowledge and consent.
2) What can you do if you’re afraid your credit may be affected by your spouse’s default on a debt at some point in the future? If you can’t trust your spouse to preserve your family, you can’t trust him or her to protect your credit. When in doubt, pay a debt yourself and compensate with a corresponding asset.
3) Is there anything you can do to enhance your protection from being disadvantaged if your spouse files for bankruptcy? You can always give yourself more protection in your divorce agreement than the law would give you on its own. Child support and spousal support are not dischargeable in bankruptcy anyway, but reinforcing in your divorce agreement how you will manage other debts is a good idea.
4) If both spouses are listed on a debt and they agree that one spouse will pay it, but that spouse later files for bankruptcy, how is the other spouse affected? You’re still on the hook, so the best thing to do is for the more financially responsible parent to assume all the debt and have it offset by equal amounts of assets so that the slacker parent doesn’t default.
5) Are child support and spousal support dischargeable in bankruptcy? No, and I wish parents didn’t have to ask that. It would be nice if parents trusted each other not to harm their family financially. But just because they’re not dischargeable, that doesn’t mean they’re easy to collect if there’s no money.