SPIFIMAN1
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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. |
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drdennie2
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Yes get a good attorney |
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textfiend
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If they are in her name, they are her problem |
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Dr. Deth
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if the cards are NOT in your name, they are not your problem - otherwise you can take her to court and try and get half of the charges from her |
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wilderr67
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If the credit cards are in your name, sorry to say but you have to pay them off. But if they are hers and only in her name its her problem.....Good luck |
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OC1999
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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. |
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hoppykit
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If you ever used them than no you cannot expect her to pay them off alone. Did she forge your name on them? Or did you sign? |
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America, The New France
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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. |
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darkangelblue13
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get a good lawyer....it also depends on who's name the cards were in....but usually the judge makes you pay half and her pay the other half....no fair if you didn't have a part in it.....but thats how it sometimes goes...but get a lawyer..... |
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Strange Days
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your sol |
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RICHARD S
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if your name is on the account you have to pay.....if not,you don't owe them anything |
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murrayc
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were they in both names or just her name?
both names, you are responsible as much as she is. her name, it's her debt.
i know since my wife took off and left me with $75,000 in credit card debt. |
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queencasper13
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U CAN SUE HER AND GET THE MONEY BAK |
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wizjp
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Her name; her debit. YOur name; your debit; joint card; joint debit and they will collect from whoever they can. |
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jdecorse25
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If she's the only one on the account then she is help responsible for them. I would look into your divorce decree and see what you are responsible for. |
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volchick2003
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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. |
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clbowman06
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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. |
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blue
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if your name is on them, you are responsible too. If they are just in her name-celebrate -they shouldnt be ur problem. |
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arklatexrat
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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! |
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Dana
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Well.... pay off some? |
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lecia1167
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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/ |
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CountryAvonLady
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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! |
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Teknoshamn
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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. |
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?
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Nope - you'll have to get the debts dealt with in divorce court but very likely you'll be stuck with at least half if not more. |
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hah
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It all depends on what agreement you have in your final divorce papers, if you agreed to pay them they are your problem, if you didn't address it, then you can. Something tells me you didn't have a lawyer....any lawyer would have taken care of that...if you did have a lawyer you got screwed by your ex and your lawyer. |
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Shan
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Do you live in a 'community property' state? That means that everything you have acquired, including debt, since you got married belongs to both of you. however, you can request copies of the credit applications. Once you have them, you can contest them on hte basis that they were requested in her name only, or that she forged your signature on them. You then have her on stolen identy and forgery charges. If nothing else, you can use them in court to prove that you did not request the cards, she did and thus prove that it is not your debt, but hers. |
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tacomadc
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If it happened while you were married I think you are stuck. Your only other possibility is small claims court. If she has no savings you're wasting your time.
Talk to a bankrupcy attorney - that's about the only way to get out of it. Otherwise, pay them off, or talk to her about paying them together.
Be glad the b$tch is gone! |
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chiggersy2k2
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If you can prove that none of the purchases were used for goods that either you or both of you used, then she will be responsible for paying them back. It's a long process but it may save you a lot of money. |
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William C
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Are you divorced, if so what was the settlement in regards to the cards. If your not divorced I suggest you talk to a local attorney. |
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donald e
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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 |
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Ho Ho Ho
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Sue her and get all the money back.
Good luck. |
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