lobsterclaws
Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Texas
My husband was divorced from his ex in Texas in 2000. At that time, they both had lots of credit card debt and the debts were divvied up between them with the stipulation in the decree that the spouse responsible for paying (via the decree) would hold the other spouse harmless from non-payment.
My husband closed out all of the joint accounts he was awarded and paid them all off. He has therefore improved the credit rating of his ex. In contrast, the ex did not close the joint accounts, and did not pay them off--in fact, she continued to use them and racked up several additional thousand in debt AFTER the divorce decree.
My husband has attempted to apply for a car loan and a mortgage and has found that she also has failed to pay the accounts in a timely fashion, being 30-60 days overdue many times over the last 5 years. She has also been overlimit, and has been accruing late and overlimit fees on the account.
Because my husband was a co-signer and joint cardholder, the credit card company will not stop reporting this debt on his credit report. We have gotten the credit card company to close the account (although they say that the ex can reopen it if she wishes) and to supply us with copies of all of the statements since the divorce date. So we can actually itemize all of her charges AFTER the divorce, all of her late fees AFTER the divorce, and all of her overlimit fees AFTER the divorce. These charges represent nearly the current balance on the card. Technically, these should not be considered community property because they were incurred AFTER the divorce, not during the marriage.
1) What action can my husband take against his ex to force her to pay off the debt in its entirety?
2) Can my husband get the credit card company to acknowledge that charges incurred post-divorce are not community property and therefore are not his responsibility?
My husband was divorced from his ex in Texas in 2000. At that time, they both had lots of credit card debt and the debts were divvied up between them with the stipulation in the decree that the spouse responsible for paying (via the decree) would hold the other spouse harmless from non-payment.
My husband closed out all of the joint accounts he was awarded and paid them all off. He has therefore improved the credit rating of his ex. In contrast, the ex did not close the joint accounts, and did not pay them off--in fact, she continued to use them and racked up several additional thousand in debt AFTER the divorce decree.
My husband has attempted to apply for a car loan and a mortgage and has found that she also has failed to pay the accounts in a timely fashion, being 30-60 days overdue many times over the last 5 years. She has also been overlimit, and has been accruing late and overlimit fees on the account.
Because my husband was a co-signer and joint cardholder, the credit card company will not stop reporting this debt on his credit report. We have gotten the credit card company to close the account (although they say that the ex can reopen it if she wishes) and to supply us with copies of all of the statements since the divorce date. So we can actually itemize all of her charges AFTER the divorce, all of her late fees AFTER the divorce, and all of her overlimit fees AFTER the divorce. These charges represent nearly the current balance on the card. Technically, these should not be considered community property because they were incurred AFTER the divorce, not during the marriage.
1) What action can my husband take against his ex to force her to pay off the debt in its entirety?
2) Can my husband get the credit card company to acknowledge that charges incurred post-divorce are not community property and therefore are not his responsibility?