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Marital Debt - Signed Contract

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hijynx54

Junior Member
CALIFORNIA

Hey all,

I was wondering what sort of legal action can be taken against me if my wife has personal unpaid debts. She currently owes her son $100,000 in a signed contract, but she does not have the money and he is threatening to sue me. We have only been married 3 years and HAVE a prenuptial agreement. We generally split our finances, but I was wondering if I still would also be liable for this money, or if it is only her burden.

She currently is out of work, and I would have a tough time coming up with $100,000 of course (I only make that in about 3 years of work).

The contract was also not a professional legal contract. It was just a plain sheet of paper where they both signed their names and acknowledged she owed him money. Would that hold up in court even? Or does it have to be a certified legal contract of some sort? They also have signed a new one in the last year for the SAME loan (just a newer contract), does that reset the statue of limitations? If not, what is the statue in California? Any help would be greatly appreciateed.

Thank you very much,
Hijynx
 
Last edited:


JETX

Senior Member
I was wondering if I still would also be liable for this money, or if it is only her burden.
Depends. Was this 'debt' entered into BEFORE your marriage (you wouldn't be liable) or AFTER (you could be liable under 'community property')?

The contract was also not a professional legal contract. It was just a plain sheet of paper where they both signed their names and acknowledged she owed him money. Would that hold up in court even? Or does it have to be a certified legal contract of some sort?
An attorney is not required to make a valid contract. And it doesn't have to be pretty, typed or even in ink. The court would determine if it is valid or not.

They also have signed a new one in the last year for the SAME loan (just a newer contract), does that reset the statue of limitations?
It supersedes the previous agreement.... and does reset the SOL.
 

hijynx54

Junior Member
reply

I think about half of it was before the actual marriage date and half after, the loans were typically in amounts of $10,000 every few months. She would pay some back, and then borrow more. We were living together before they started though. And where can I find the SOL for California in this specific case?

I also wrote a promissary note to her for $10,000 upon the sale of my house since she spent that money in doing upgrades for us. She has since signed it over to him. Is that legal? Meaning I owe him $10,000 now? Or does it have to be signed by myself as well?

Thank you again for all the help.

p.s We also do not have any shared accounts or anything of that nature. We keep almost all of our finances separated.
 

hijynx54

Junior Member
reply

Also I think the original contract was dated during the post-marriage time since they use to not keep it on paper, they kind of just did a honor based system. But since they had a somewhat falling out, its all written now.
 

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