Divorce and credit card debt
Before we proceed with the question and answer post pertaining to divorce and credit card debt, I want to drive home a very important point. No matter how much in love you are, at least at the beginning, keep your finances in sound order and keep them separately. That is, except the mortgage on your primary home. Auto loans and credit cards should have either spouse on each account not both. Often when you have a joint account prior to divorce, things happen fast and the credit card debt accumulated by one ex hunts the other. So here is a rather bad divorce and credit card debt email that we received.
Q: We divorced 9 months ago and quite amicably after a 5-year marriage. My ex wife owns an interior design business and with economy supposedly in recovery, she landed few cushy remodeling jobs, or so she thought. So 5 months ago, she charged close to $3,200 on American Express which has been jointly owned by both of us. At least one job did not materialize, so she owes $950 and that is now 30 days past due. She says she has no cash, and wants me to pay that off. I foolishly did not get my name from the account during or after divorce, thinking that once we were done, I am not responsible. Now my credit score is already down by 50 points, and if I am to get a 60-day late, the credit rating will be atrocious. She knows how much I care about credit. I called American Express, trying to convince them that these charges are not mine but got nowhere. I told them about the divorce and the card in my ex wife possession to no avail. Is there anything that I can do?
A: There isn't much you can do at this point. You can pay and only then try getting yourself of this joint account. Or you can just ignore it and watch your credit card debt likely mounting higher and credit score going down the drain. The fact of your divorce matters very little to any creditor. Unpaid debt is all that matters to them. Once you become a joint owner, as opposed to an authorized user, you both are equally liable for all of the debt, no matter it was incurred before, during or after divorce and by whom. So if you are divorcing, or are about to, close all the joint accounts, no matter what.
Credit card issuers, American Express in your case, care only to see that debt be paid. If they can't get the payment from your ex wife, they will go after you. The basic law, to the best of my knowledge, is pretty clear that a divorce decree cannot affect the rights of a creditor on an account established before divorce. And can under no circumstances alter the agreement between creditor and borrower. You can take legal action against your ex, like suing her in small claims court, but American Express is perfectly within its right to seek and obtain judgment against either or both of you. To prevent any future debt problems, remove your name from all credit card accounts you may still hold jointly.
Tue May 18, 2010 04:05PM | Copyright: www.bad-credit-advisor.com | More in Credit Card Debt | Comments (0)
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