Joint Spousal Debt: View of the Problem
The article reveals a number of controversial issues related to the phenomenon of “joint obligations of spouses”. At the beginning of the article the author points to the prerequisite for the possibility of the existence of joint spousal obligations. This is the presence of the opposite phenomenon, namely the common property of the spouses. Through the analysis of the concept of “family” as an entity that has an internal unity, the author makes a conclusion about possible dual nature of family property relations, i.e., relations within the family and relations of the family with third parties. In assessing the concept of joint obligation of spouses, the author points to the criteria for distinguishing the joint obligation of spouses from the personal obligation of one of the spouses, notes the lack of legal regulation of joint obligations of spouses, and indicates the procedural order for the recognition of the obligation of one of the spouses as a joint obligation of the spouses. The author concludes with an overview of the existing problems of law enforcement. Thus, the fundamental criterion “the needs of the family” for classifying an obligation as a joint obligation of spouses is of an evaluative nature and is left by the legislator to judicial practice. At the same, time there is no principle of uniformity in its enforcement. In addition, a negative trend in court practice is pointed out, where courts refuse to satisfy the claims for recognition of the obligation as a joint obligation of spouses on the grounds that the obligation remains unfulfilled at the time of the dispute consideration.