"In the midst of your divorce, you’ve probably discussed separating your assets, but you might be less inclined to talk about who’s going to take responsibility for shared debts.
Most courts will divide up responsibilities for these during a divorce decree, giving one individual the ownership of each debt."
I've not been married yet but hope I never go through something like this.
@Anonymous wrote:
They shut the off my electric and gas once because my ex wife owed a bill. I guess they didn't get the memo we got divorced 2 years prior. So when she defaulted they shut her off and then came to my house and shut mine off too!!!lmao. I had to fax over my divorce papers and wait for them to come turn my stuff on the next day. They never could fix my account to remove her name so every time I called it gave me some crazy limit I had to pay. The power and gas company had to eventually delete the account off my CR and issue me a new account number.
+1
I can see how that would be problematic. 
I know in my own area/state, the utilities will only allow one name to be listed as the 'responsible party' on an account... I found this out when I was trying to help my grandmother put her name on her utilitiy accounts along with my grandfather's.
My grandfather is unable to use the phone (even with expensive hearing aids he has difficulty understanding people in the same room - the phone is literally impossible) so my grandmother has to call whenever they need something. It was always a hassle to get him to give 'permission' for her to discuss an account - basically he just says aloud what my grandmother tells him to in response to the CSR's questions.
I was told by BellSouth (now AT&T) and the local power company that there could only be one name (responsible party) on accounts, but that a second name could be listed as an 'authorized' person to speak with. For the moment that's good enough (and has worked OK) but if he passes before her she will likely just have to get new accounts in her own name, which will be a hassle for someone else (likely myself) to deal with, but it's understandable. Other elderly people in my family have simply kept quiet when the account holder dies and they just keep paying the bill... while that could be problematic it's a possibility as well.
I suspect this is by design to prevent your unfortunate situation, with a person being held 'hostage' by an ex. 
(Note that we are not in a community property state, which likely makes a difference.)
@RM21 wrote:
I've not been married yet but hope I never go through something like this.
I'm single as well, and IMHO this is one of the few 'perks' of remaining so. 