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Ex Wife not paying any bills

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had22much

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? VA

I just received a phone call yesterday about an over due phone bill that my Ex wife had not paid and that my name is on. I know that my name is on it and I have made arrangments to pay for it. But when I asked my ask ex wife about it she said that she would not pay me back and she was going to stop paing for the house, which is in both of our names, (she couldn't refi because she filed bankruptcy in feb of this year and messed her credit up all ready. I guess now she figures it's my turn for her to mess mine up too. We do have 2 children and there was no child support ordered, we share 50/50 and suppose to share all the bills for the kids to, but since we seperated I have paid for all medical expenses. Is there anything that I can do so that she will not be able to mess up my credit too??
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
had22much said:
What is the name of your state? VA

I just received a phone call yesterday about an over due phone bill that my Ex wife had not paid and that my name is on. I know that my name is on it and I have made arrangments to pay for it. But when I asked my ask ex wife about it she said that she would not pay me back and she was going to stop paing for the house, which is in both of our names, (she couldn't refi because she filed bankruptcy in feb of this year and messed her credit up all ready. I guess now she figures it's my turn for her to mess mine up too. We do have 2 children and there was no child support ordered, we share 50/50 and suppose to share all the bills for the kids to, but since we seperated I have paid for all medical expenses. Is there anything that I can do so that she will not be able to mess up my credit too??
Pay the bills/mortgage yourself until you can get the house sold. You may need to go back to court to get a judge to order the sale.

If the phone is in your name only, you can cancel it....but give her fair warning that you are doing so.....you also may be able to talk to the phone company and get the bill out of your name since you are divorced.
 

had22much

Junior Member
She is living in the home, and I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't get the amount of money owed on the house. The Phone bill was from Jan. when the phone company turned her phone off and she had told me that she had turned it off. And as for me paying the bills, I am holding up my end of the agreement and paying the credit cards off that are in HER name.....I'm paying over$2000.00 a month in credit card payments...... I'm trying to do everything possible to keep my credit score up, I can't make another payment. Is there not something I can do?
 

jpriness73

Junior Member
is all of this documented by divorce papers? if so you can go back to court for her contempt of the 50/50 split that she isn't paying. since she has given you a heads up about not paying any further bills you should probably speak to an attorney quick before she does pull you under.
 

had22much

Junior Member
Is that the only thing that I can do is to get her held with contempt ? and what would usually happen after that? What would happen to her? As much as I dislike her... that is my childrens mother...
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
had22much said:
Is that the only thing that I can do is to get her held with contempt ? and what would usually happen after that? What would happen to her? As much as I dislike her... that is my childrens mother...
For first time contempt nothing much would happen other than her being slapped on the wrist and ordered again to make the house payments, if you don't ask the judge to order that the house be sold.

Here is the problem. The mortgage company is not a party to your divorce, they are not bound by the divorce decree, only by the mortgage contract that you signed.

Therefore, unless the house is sold to get you off the mortgage, or your ex can refinance to get you off the mortgage, this is going to be hanging over your head.

If she has already stopped or is about to stop paying the mortgage, there is almost no chance you can get this into court fast enough to avoid your credit being dinged, badly. Therefore, unless you can find some way to make the payments temporarily, you are going to end up with a problem with your credit report, even if she eventually is made to be responsible for financial damages.
 

Neal1421

Senior Member
had22much said:
She is living in the home, and I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't get the amount of money owed on the house. The Phone bill was from Jan. when the phone company turned her phone off and she had told me that she had turned it off. And as for me paying the bills, I am holding up my end of the agreement and paying the credit cards off that are in HER name.....I'm paying over$2000.00 a month in credit card payments...... I'm trying to do everything possible to keep my credit score up, I can't make another payment. Is there not something I can do?
This is just a thought and you may be held in contempt of court but so will she. Anyway, stop paying the credit cards that are in her name and put the money toward the mortgage so that your credit does not get ruined.

Again, just a thought...
 

jpriness73

Junior Member
Contempt is a start. If she was given the family home in the divorce you need permission from the court to sell the house. then there will be a record. you may want to contact the three credit reporting agencies. my ex was able to have a little "notation" put on his credit report that a car that was in his name but her responsibility and repo'd twice and never paid on time-as revenge- was not his responsibility.
i understand she is the mother of your children but if she ruins your credit how will you be able to get things that you want or even help your kids in the future if they need a co-signor?
 

jaf72

Member
I usually don't post here, but I just want to say one thing. That "little notation" that the previous poster is talking about is worthless. It WILL NOT save your credit. If you have signed a contract and are liable for a debt, you are liable. Period. My fiance has gone through all sorts of hoops trying to extricate himself from the financial quagmire his ex left him in. Creditors don't care about your divorce, or who the judge gave what to. They just want you to pay. You can make a notation on your credit report to explain why you are in the situation you are in, but it won't save your credit. Trust me. My fiance has rotten credit now due to his ex not paying bills and it is going to take forever to fix it. And, by the way, he paid all of her crap off to save his credit and it still stinks because it was all in default.

And, if making a "notation" on your credit report can convince the three major credit bureaus that someone else is responsible for your debt, no one would pay their bills and say someone else is responsible for that, not me.

The long and the short of it is if you signed for it, you pay for it unless your ex refinaces it completely and totally in their own name.
 

Bali Hai

Senior Member
jaf72 said:
I usually don't post here, but I just want to say one thing. That "little notation" that the previous poster is talking about is worthless. It WILL NOT save your credit. If you have signed a contract and are liable for a debt, you are liable. Period. My fiance has gone through all sorts of hoops trying to extricate himself from the financial quagmire his ex left him in. Creditors don't care about your divorce, or who the judge gave what to. They just want you to pay. You can make a notation on your credit report to explain why you are in the situation you are in, but it won't save your credit. Trust me. My fiance has rotten credit now due to his ex not paying bills and it is going to take forever to fix it. And, by the way, he paid all of her crap off to save his credit and it still stinks because it was all in default.

And, if making a "notation" on your credit report can convince the three major credit bureaus that someone else is responsible for your debt, no one would pay their bills and say someone else is responsible for that, not me.

The long and the short of it is if you signed for it, you pay for it unless your ex refinaces it completely and totally in their own name.
Where does Op say he is divorced or even legally seperated?

In any event, this is the typical screw over situation and he will be the screwee.
 

AHA

Senior Member
had22much said:
She is living in the home, and I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't get the amount of money owed on the house. The Phone bill was from Jan. when the phone company turned her phone off and she had told me that she had turned it off. And as for me paying the bills, I am holding up my end of the agreement and paying the credit cards off that are in HER name.....I'm paying over$2000.00 a month in credit card payments...... I'm trying to do everything possible to keep my credit score up, I can't make another payment. Is there not something I can do?
Unless there is a court order saying that you have to pay HER debts, dump the payments on everything/anything that is in HER name only. Paying those won't make YOUR credit score any better. Put the $2000/month towards bills that are in BOTH or your name instead. She might be your (ex)wife and the mother of your kids, but she is also an adult and needs to realise that she has to re-pay her own debts. If she wants to run her credit score in the ground, let her, it is not YOUR problem to solve.
 

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