creditcard debt not mine

California,
Me and my wife have started down the road of divorce,
Both vehicles are paid off,
Going to sell the condo and split what we made it in half?
The credit cards are in my wifes name, don't know where all the money went?.
She already e-mailed to me that the cards was her responsablity,I did not find out about it till the beginning of this year.Is there any way to protect myself?

sevildog said:

California,
Me and my wife have started down the road of divorce,
Both vehicles are paid off,
Going to sell the condo and split what we made it in half?
The credit cards are in my wifes name, don't know where all the money went?.
She already e-mailed to me that the cards was her responsablity,I did not find out about it till the beginning of this year.Is there any way to protect myself?

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If your name definitely isn't on the cards, and she is accepting full responsibility, then you shouldn't have anything that you need to protect yourself against. The key is to make sure that your name is not on the accounts.

I disagree. California is a Marital Property State. If the debt was incurred during the marriage, then the Credit Card Company can hold them both liable. They are not going to care what agreement the husband and wife made between themselves if the cards go into collections.

I suggest that the OP check his CR to see if these debts show up there. Get reports from all three CBs.

Veronica1228 said:

I disagree. California is a Marital Property State. If the debt was incurred during the marriage, then the Credit Card Company can hold them both liable. They are not going to care what agreement the husband and wife made between themselves if the cards go into collections.

I suggest that the OP check his CR to see if these debts show up there. Get reports from all three CBs.

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You are correct of course. However if the wife opened the cards in her own name, and defaults several years down the road, the odds of the creditors attempting to involve him or prove that the debt came from the marriage would be relatively slim.

Think about it? They could certainly do it right now if she were to default now...but in a relatively short amount of time the issue would get much murkier because the cards would still be active....on a non-community basis....and in fact that may have already started.

Checking his credit reports is a good idea.

Veronica1228 said:

I disagree. California is a Marital Propert.y State. If the debt was incurred during the marriage, then the Credit Card Company can hold them both liable. They are not going to care what agreement the husband and wife made between themselves if the cards go into collections.
such anim
I suggest that the OP check his CR to see if these debts show up there. Get reports from all three CBs.

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Veronica, a gentle reminder...

California is a "Community Property" state, not a Marital Property state. In divorce terminology there is no such "animal" as a "Marital Property" state; for non CP states the correct terminology is an "Equitable Division" state.

Otherwise I agree with you.

cyana24 said:

Veronica, a gentle reminder...

California is a "Community Property" state, not a Marital Property state. In divorce terminology there is no such "animal" as a "Marital Property" state; for non CP states the correct terminology is an "Equitable Division" state.

Otherwise I agree with you.

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Thanks cyana. I'm a banker and I always think in banking terms. What can I do?

my wife took all the creditcard debt and consilidated it into a payment program with a credit conseling with her name only. she makes one payment a month.

sevildog said:

my wife took all the creditcard debt and consilidated it into a payment program with a credit conseling with her name only. she makes one payment a month.

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The answer is still pretty much the same. This debt was incurred while you were married, and therefore you could, at the very least, end up with bad credit because of it. At worst, they could try to get you to pay if the debt goes into collections.

I still think it is a good idea to get copies of your CR. If this debt shows up on it, then you will have a better picture of where you stand.