‘Your Fiance Is Probably Going to File Bankruptcy Before You Get Married’: Ramsey to Groom 14 Days From the Altar

Dave Ramsey told a man 14 days. He shared this from his wedding: “Your fiance is probably going to file bankruptcy before you get married.” The caller’s fiancée was in intensive care after a two-car wreck two weeks before their wedding. He wanted to know if he was morally obligated to pay her medical bills even though they are not legally married.

He has about $11,000 in savings and now pays every living expense alone. He also disabled his fiancée’s auto-pay so her account would not be drained. If he signs for her hospital bills and a lawsuit follows, that $11,000 is the first thing a creditor can seize.

Co-host Rachel Cruze spoke. She pressed the emotional case: “You are two weeks, 14 days away from saying in sickness and in health… this is your wife… I think I would take care of her.” Ramsey agreed with the feeling but drew a hard legal line. He told the caller to treat her like his wife, “but not necessarily signing up legally for all these bills.”

Ramsey’s Legal Line Protects the Couple, Too

Ramsey is right. Debts go to the person who takes them on. Until the wedding, her hospital bills and any lawsuit judgment go to her alone. If he co-signs a payment plan or signs as the responsible party at admissions, her debt becomes his debt too.

Marriage itself can increase his exposure. Some states follow the “doctrine of necessaries,” which can make one spouse liable for the other’s medical care. Consider Massachusetts. Its law holds that spouses shall be liable jointly or severally for debts incurred on account of necessaries furnished to either spouse.

The timing of a bankruptcy matters for the same reason. When a married person files Chapter 7, the means test requires your spouse’s income if you’re legally married and living together. If she files while single, only her own income goes on the forms. That makes Ramsey’s prediction the cleaner outcome: she files, the judgment is wiped out, and he enters the marriage with his savings intact.

Ramsey’s read on the insurance was reassuring. The crash was her fault, so her auto liability coverage pays the other driver’s claim. Ramsey spoke up. He said it would be “unusual for them not to be at least a half million dollars.” Her health plan’s deductible and out-of-pocket maximum cap her medical costs, which Ramsey estimated were likely under $20,000. He called her medical recovery “90% of what you guys face,” with the financial problem making up about 10%. She has no broken legs, and her mobility problems are expected to improve with recovery.

One Number Decides Whether She Lands in Bankruptcy Court

The deciding factor is whether a court award tops her liability limit. If the other driver wins less than the policy limit, the insurance company pays it all and she owes nothing. The couple’s real bill becomes the health plan’s out-of-pocket maximum.

Take an example where a jury awards $800,000 against a $500,000 policy. The insurance company pays its limit, and she owes the remaining $300,000 herself. This is where Ramsey expects her to file. If the groom signed nothing, creditors can’t touch his savings to collect that $300,000.

The same logic applies to medical bills. An out-of-pocket maximum close to Ramsey’s $20,000 estimate would wipe out his $11,000 if he had guaranteed it, and Ramsey also warned that the couple could pay for therapy out of pocket for a long time. If he chooses to pay her bills from his own account, that’s a gift he can stop or limit, but if he signs for them, collectors decide how much he pays.

Five Moves to Make Before Saying “I Do”

1. Pay from your own account and sign nothing. Cover rent, groceries, or her deductible if you want to, but never sign as guarantor or responsible party on hospital intake forms, payment plans, or rehab paperwork.
2. Find her auto policy’s declarations page. Check the bodily injury liability limit per person and per accident. That number shows how close she is to Ramsey’s worst case.
3. Make sure the claim is with her auto insurance company. Her liability carrier generally has a duty to defend her if she’s sued. Report everything right away so the insurance company handles the other driver’s claim.
4. Get her health plan’s summary of benefits. Write down the deductible and the out-of-pocket maximum. Those two numbers are the most she owes for medical care in the plan year.
5. Talk to a bankruptcy attorney before you set the wedding date if the claim looks bigger than her coverage. If she files while single, your income stays off her means test, and your name stays off her debts.

Love her like a wife, but keep every bill and legal document in her name alone until you know how much she could owe.

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