There are two issue here: what the court orders, and whose name(s) are on the loans. The court could require both of you to be responsible for the debt, or it could require that he pays the majority of it. If things are as you describe, he may be ordered to pay most or all the debt. The second issue is whose names are on the loans. Did you jointly sign for the debt, or just him? If you cosigned the creditors will come after both of you, even if the court orders otherwise. If only you signed it, the creditors will come after you. If only he signed for it, then you are not responsible. Unfortunately if you both signed the loans, even if the court orders him to pay, the creditors will come after you if he doesn't pay. It's not real fair, but that's the way it works. Keeping this in mind, may I recommend that if you have ANYTHING that you have both signed on (house, car, etc) make sure to force a sale of those items as part of the divorce decree. Otherwise if he quits making payments, the creditors will come after you down the road, regardless of the what the divorce decree says. Also, if you have a house with equity, forcing a sale might be a good way to clean up some of the debt. Also, you REALLY need to find the money for a good lawyer to represent you. Let the other bills wait if they have to, and get a good lawyer first. And if you need to, you can declare bankruptcy as well and that will get rid of the creditors. Keep in mind you can't usually bankrupt Student loans or back taxes to the IRS.

First off, how the assets and debts will be split up will depend on the state that you live in and when the assets and debts were acquired. If they are all marital assets and debts, then they will generally be split 50/50 in all states. Second, the cost of the lawyers gets thrown into the marital debts and then split. This prevents the bread winning spouse from having an advantage. Lastly, it seems like your spouse is the primary bread winner. The reason we have alimony is so the spouse with the lower income can afford to survive. Your lawyer can negotiate and waive alimony in exchange for your husband taking all the debt. Or you might want to seek the maximum alimony and take half the debt. My guess is your husband has made threats that have scared you. My advice is relax. The laws are designed to ensure that the bread winning spouse does not have an advantage over you.