Collections Law/Hubbo's Debt

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Expert: Creditwrench - 8/16/2009


Question
Dear Expert Creditwrench,
Wow, thank goodness for your help!  

Hubby has a vehicle and a piece of real property in his name only.  He also has debt in his name only.  

Is my own vehicle, which is titled only in my name, in danger?  Or my own inherited home that is titled only in my name?  

We do put checks made jointly to us, like IRS refunds, into an account that is in my name only, which is probably unwise.  He is also an authorized user on my credit card and on my bank account (referenced earlier)ATM card.

I was going to pay his debt long ago just to end the harrassing phone calls but it's really, legally not my debt and I really can't spare the several thousand dollars.  There is always some need, some better way to spend it than paying a debt that is not legally or morally mine.  

How bad is my exposure?  Can I eliminate the exposure, if any?  Thanks a million for your help.

Answer

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What you are legally liable for would depend on what state you live in. If you live in a community property state then you are equally responsible for the debt. But look at it another way. Even if you are not in a community property state there is no way for you to escape paying for the debts of your spouse one way or another. After all, if your spouse has to spend money to pay the debts then you lose the benefit of that money. If you use your money to pay his debt then your spouse also loses any benefit of the spent money that might have been had. It is a two way street no matter how you look at it. But if I were you I certainly wouldn't use my money to pay his old debts. After all, due to the statute of limitations he might not even owe the money anymore.  

Creditwrench

Expertise

Debt Collections law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), federal law, how to properly answer court summons for collection cases, how to prepare federal cases against debt collectors, how to deal with debt collection phone calls.

Experience

I've been an active consumer advocate for more than 40 years and have helped hundreds of people win cases against debt collectors as well as helping them defeat demands for summary judgment lodged against them by banks, debt collectors and defeat mortgage foreclosures and keep their homes.

Education/Credentials
Paralegal courses for the most part.
I have been teaching people how to deal with judgments, mortgage foreclosures and other such problems both on and off the internet for many, many years. I am a Richard Cornforth information provider ever since 2000 and worked with many other organizations and causes since 1980. I was Oklahoma State Chairman for the nationwide drive to defeat the Constitutional Convention which was proposed by various factions within our federal government such as the Council of State Governments and the National Organization of State Governors who were working hard to organize a Constitutional Convention to be held in 1995 for the purpose of rewriting our American Constitution to be more acceptable to the United Nations. I worked with Senator Charles Duke of Colorado and Senator Don Rogers of California and many others across the nation to keep them from getting the number of delegate states required to lawfully hold a Con-Con and we were successful. I have worked with many other legislative issues in Oklahoma and have always been very successful.

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