Help...ex is unreasonable!!

[audiogirl_76]

What is the name of your state? MN

I currently reside in MN, but my divorce was in my former state of Arkansas. The divorce decree divided our debts, including credit cards. One card is in my name only, but the debt is his and it was stated on the decree he would pay it. Now he says he will ONLY pay it if I give him all the credit card info so he can pay it online. He has a history of being late with payments and unresponsible. Plus, he has no business knowing my credit card number and such. How can I legally make him pay the debt? Thanks for any help!

[AHA]

Originally Posted by audiogirl_76

What is the name of your state? MN

I currently reside in MN, but my divorce was in my former state of Arkansas. The divorce decree divided our debts, including credit cards. One card is in my name only, but the debt is his and it was stated on the decree he would pay it. Now he says he will ONLY pay it if I give him all the credit card info so he can pay it online. He has a history of being late with payments and unresponsible. Plus, he has no business knowing my credit card number and such. How can I legally make him pay the debt? Thanks for any help!

Cancel the credit card, have the card number blocked so it can't be used, give the ex the info so he can make payments for the outstanding balance and then get yourself a different credit card that he has no access or responsibilty over.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by audiogirl_76

What is the name of your state? MN

I currently reside in MN, but my divorce was in my former state of Arkansas. The divorce decree divided our debts, including credit cards. One card is in my name only, but the debt is his and it was stated on the decree he would pay it. Now he says he will ONLY pay it if I give him all the credit card info so he can pay it online. He has a history of being late with payments and unresponsible. Plus, he has no business knowing my credit card number and such. How can I legally make him pay the debt? Thanks for any help!

I understand your concern. I would have the same concerns. However, at the same time, he may have equally valid concerns. He may not want to give the money to you because he can't be certain that you will actually use it to pay the debt. He also may want to be able to prove that he is paying the debt and therefore needs to be paying it directly...not through you.

If I were in your shoes what I would do is set up on online account/login and password for paying the bill and give it to him. Then, I would cancel the card itself so that no future charges could be made on the account...but keep the online account open for paying it off (yes, you can do that...you can cancel a credit card and then keep paying on it until its paid off....been there in a divorce situation...done that). You of course would also have the login and password and you could/should monitor the account regularly and if he is late or not paying the bill you can do so yourself.....and then take him to small claims or to family court for contempt.

That way he gets the convenience of both paying online and being able to prove that he is actually paying the account, and you get the protection of being able to make sure that your credit isn't "dinged"...plus you have the benefit of being able to bring it to his attention on a regular basis if he isn't paying on time....because YOU will have set the "questions" needed to change the login or password......and he won't be able to use the account number to make more charges because the account will be cancelled...and AGAIN, he won't know the answer to the "questions" that could be used to reactivate it.

Think about it.....

[AHA]

Originally Posted by LdiJ

(yes, you can do that...you can cancel a credit card and then keep paying on it until its paid off)

That's not actually a choice, even if a credit card account is closed, the remaining balance will still have to be paid. The debt doesn't go away just because the customer closes the card account.

[Bali Hai]

Originally Posted by AHA

That's not actually a choice, even if a credit card account is closed, the remaining balance will still have to be paid. The debt doesn't go away just because the customer closes the card account.

Somebody is going to pay....guess who??

[AHA]

Originally Posted by Bali Hai

Somebody is going to pay....guess who??

The cc company will go after the accountholder obviously.

[staceychuck]

Is there a set amount that he owes? Just wondering, because if he was just worried about having proof that he sent the money to pay for it, he could send you a money order with the words written on there "Payment for Credit Card as stated in the Divorce Decree". Then when you cashed the money order he would have his proof then that he sent you payment, because you can trace money orders or cashier's checks. I mean it's your card...you don't have to give out that information. He doesn't need that information. He just needs to know what his charges are, the amount owed, and then he can start sending you payments until it's paid off. I mean if he's worried about you not applying it to the card....that's your credit you'd be messing up, not his. Anyways...hopefully this helped. take care...hope things get better for you.

[stealth2]

LDi's suggestion made the most sense, IMO.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by AHA

That's not actually a choice, even if a credit card account is closed, the remaining balance will still have to be paid. The debt doesn't go away just because the customer closes the card account.

Sorry, I didn't explain myself well. I meant that you could close the account and still pay on it on a standard basis....it didn't have to be paid off to be closed. Many people think that you have to pay off an account in order to be able to close it.

[ceara19]

Originally Posted by LdiJ

Sorry, I didn't explain myself well. I meant that you could close the account and still pay on it on a standard basis....it didn't have to be paid off to be closed. Many people think that you have to pay off an account in order to be able to close it.

That's true. But a credit card company has the right to demand payment in full at almost anytime, whether the account is closed or not. The OP can find the "Terms of Service" agreement for the card in question on their website.