I live in PA and some of these cards were opened back in 2000.
2007-12-17 08:26:02 · 34 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
If they are in her name and you are not either a joint or co-signer, this is not your debt.
PA is not a community property State so if your name is not on them there is nothing they can do to you.
2007-12-17 08:30:57 · answer #1 · answered by ? 7 · 3⤊ 20⤋
Are you/have you ever been listed as an authorized user on the cards?
Is your property (assets and liabilities) seperated now that you are divorced?
Did you sign ANYTHING related to a contractual agreement for these accounts?
Do you have anything in your posession that PROVES you did not/were not the responsible party at the time the cards were opened?
The reason I ask all of these questions is that yes, there is an outside possibility that you can fight this in court - ESPECIALLY if there were conditions of the divorce that included how and when mutual debts and assets would be paid out. I was in credit card collections for several years, and saw this many times. Some of the people I worked with were able to go back through the courts to get the other spouse to pay up as part of their divorce decree, but I don't know enough about your specific situation to know if that is an option here.
2007-12-17 08:36:22 · answer #2 · answered by Technoshaman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends. I suppose the laws may vary from state to state, so the advice to get an attorney is right on, because regardless of what your recourse is, that will be your best avenue to pursue it.
There may be a couple of things you can do on your own depending on the circumstances.
You say ex-wife, but were the accounts opened by her before or after you separated and with or without your knowledge? If you can prove that you had legal divorce or even that divorce papers had been filed prior to the accounts being opened, you may be able to convince the credit card companies to take you off the account and go after her, especially if you can allege fraud (as in she forged your name to documents or something like that). In Texas, once the divorce has been filed, the accounts are supposed to be frozen and one party isn't supposed to be able to open joint accounts or redistribute assets.
If it was before, is your divorce already final & the settlement complete? If the final divorce is still pending, you will likely have the opportunity to list this among the items you want her to be responsible for and/or to use it as an offset against money you owe her. It's possible that even after the decree an attorney may be able to file something, or that at least you could use this as leverage to negotiate something with her out of court.
Be careful if this debt gets assigned to her to pay but it is still somehow in your name with the credit card company. My ex settled a past due AmEx account he had run up that was in my name. He got them to accept a smaller amount, and then they taxed ME for the rest as income. By the time I got the 1099 the next year, it was too late for me to fight that with him in court.
You may want to call the credit card companies first and see what you can do without having to pay an attorney, but if the amount is significant, you will probably be better off to hire the help. Again, it depends on the laws in your state, so be sure to read the other responses you get here in case there are others in PA with relevant experience or expertise to share!
2007-12-17 08:37:59 · answer #3 · answered by arklatexrat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i am a mortgage officer in PA. and my brother in law just had the same scenario, bottom line he had 750 scores but couldnt handle the 50,000 in credit card debt i found as they filed for divorce, his name was on the accounts she had used his ssn, and signed his name, he didnt even know about most of them, she paid them on time right up till the separation, and then stopped paying, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned lol. anywho he is legally responsible and had to file bankruptcy in order to get out from under got left with 2 kids 8 and 12 and it was easier to do the bk than deprive the kids of the things in life that would have been given up to pay off the debts. if your name is on the accounts there is nothing you can do unless you want to call the cops for forgery, and then find yourself in a law suit which you may or may not win gl
2007-12-17 08:33:53 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
PA is not a community property state. So if you are not on any of the accounts there is nothing they can do to you.
If these were joint accounts in the eyes of the creditor you would still be responsible if she does not pay. This is regardless of any agreements(such as a divorce decree) you have between you and your ex-wife. If you do have an agreement that she would pay them then you would have to file a suit against her if you ended up paying for them.
2007-12-17 09:17:17 · answer #5 · answered by OC1999 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree with ghiagirl - what you are proposing to do is not legal, is in fact fraud. It is also ridiculously childish, though I'm sure I can understand the urge to think about it. You *do* understand that what you call "just plain good old fashioned payback" is, in fact, childish, right? (heh, maybe she's testing you - speaking of payback, maybe she is detail oriented enough to know that you'd be tempted to use it and she could get the bank to slam you for fraud.) And sorry, but "I think I'm listed as an authorized user" is not the same as "I know that I'm listed as an authorized user" (and anyway, why would she? It makes no sense.) But hey, it's your funeral. I don't understand what you are calling payback. Payback would be to ensure that what she did to you got done to her. Not possible. Being vengeful just makes you a smaller person. And heLLO, if you don't think this issue won't get revisited at divorce time, you are very much mistaken.
2016-05-24 09:40:47 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The same thing happened to my Mother when my dad split. I don't think there is much you can do except bankruptcy (which was what my mom had to do and really stinks) or go to a lawyer and see if you can go after her for the money! Anything is worth a shot. But the bankruptcy thing is a tough one and I know that they either changed the laws or are going to change the laws making it harder to file. Well I wish you luck!
2007-12-17 08:31:23 · answer #7 · answered by CountryAvonLady 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it wasn't included in your divorce settlements, you might have a hard time going back now and claiming it. You need to weigh the cost of hiring an attorney and court fees vs. paying off the debt.
2007-12-17 08:29:11 · answer #8 · answered by volchick2003 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Contact Legacy Legal in Gilbert, Arizona. They helped me with this exact problem with my ex-husband about eight years ago, and I couldn't be more satisfied. The cost is more than fair, by the way. You don't have to live in AZ. I live thousands of miles away from there, and it doesn't matter. Email me if you want more info.
2007-12-17 08:29:46 · answer #9 · answered by No Shortage 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, since some are so old, you can probably contact the credit bureau and have them removed. If you are already divorced and never said anything about it to the courts, you are stuck with the debt.
2007-12-17 08:29:45 · answer #10 · answered by clbowman06 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try contacting this place. I think it depends on your state. This place is in Pennsylvania, so they will know how the law applies in your situation. It could be that, since she opened the accounts, she's responsible, but it also could be that you both are, if the debts were incurred during your marriage. Good luck.
http://www.shgresources.com/credit-management/pennsylvania-debt-management/
2007-12-17 08:32:20 · answer #11 · answered by lecia1167 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋