Credit card debt often plays a significant role in divorce—both as a factor in the cause of the divorce and as an obstacle to dissolving the marriage, as responsibility for the debt must be agreed to by the divorcing spouses or determined by the court.

If the spouses live in a community property state (as opposed to a common law property/equitable distribution state) and the credit card was applied for and issued to only one of the spouses, the bank may only be able to seek payment from the spouse in whose name the card was issued and the credit was extended—but in resolving the divorce case, the court (judge) may order community property sold to pay the credit card debt, or may order the other spouse to pay the credit card debt. Community property states generally include Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Michigan is not a community property state; it is an equitable distribution state. This means that during a divorce, credit card debt and other liabilities are divided equitably, but not necessarily equally, between the spouses. The court will consider a variety of factors to determine a fair division of debt, including the length of the marriage, the needs and resources of each spouse, and who incurred the debt. If a credit card is in one spouse's name only, the court may still consider the debt as marital if it was used for the benefit of the marriage. However, the creditor can typically only pursue the spouse whose name is on the account for payment. During divorce proceedings, the judge will decide how to allocate the credit card debt between the spouses, which may involve one spouse being ordered to pay the debt or both spouses sharing the responsibility.