Expert: Christine Janklow - 12/15/2009

Question
Hello,

When I was married I was on a joint business checking account with my husband.  There was a credit line that was also issued along with the checking account.  

When my husband and I got divorced, in our divorce papers it is indicated that the debt on that credit card was to be his solely while I took on my student loan debt and my own credit cards.  My ex husband was supposed to remove me from the account.

The rest here is pretty much conjecture, but I assume he went to the bank and asked to have me removed and they told him the process and he found it to difficult to do, and knew he'd never qualify for the line of credit without my credit score, so he just ignored it.  He left the country for two years, only to ignore the debt for ten months of this year.  I only knew he wasn't paying when the card was discharged and it hit my credit report.

I've read that bankruptcy doesn't cover this kind of debt, and as a cosigner, the only one with a job, I'm pretty sure they'll come to me for the money.  

What options do I have.  I know I am liable for it, because I made the mistake of trusting him to do the right thing, but how do I protect myself from having my wages garnished, having to default on my student loans or other credit cards because the bank wants an outrageous amount of money per month.  

How do I get them to work with me, and how do I recover the money from my ex husband in the future?  I want to try to save my credit, I've already been denied one line of credit, had one line of credit reduced and another line closed.  

It's about 13K in total debt.

Thank you.

Answer
Patricia:
Thank you for your inquiry. As you do not specify which state you reside in, as it is possible that it is not among a community property state. Also, how long is the debt in default as a statute of limitations to collect may have expired. See more about your rights and statute of limitations for collections at: www.ftc.gov or www.fair-debt-collection.com . Either way, the divorce would render some or all of the liability to its respective guarantor. As for conjecture, if the debt has been defaulted upon and is affecting your credit, you must first contact the creditor and let them know of your divorce and relationship to the debt (guarantor or not). If they try to collect,make no promises to pay until you have all the facts/documents you need. You can (and should) offer a much lower settlement amount to pay off the balance for less than is owed, as it has already been charged off. Do not panic about your credit rating just yet, it is important to get the matter resolved, then fix or dispute erroneous reporting. Unless the creditor sues you it is unlikely they can garnish wages, etc. As for your Ex, make sure to copy him on all correspondence with his creditors so there is a paper trail. You would need to seek advice from a collections attorney if you wish to pursue him for payment and damages. Best of luck and if you found this answer helpful please take a moment to rate it.

Respectfully,

Christine Janklow