Community debt collection

[lisam123]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas. My husband was given money by a friend over the course of several years. I was unaware that the friend was giving him this money. I am only being given details after the situation has escalated. From what I've been told, the friend would offer money when my husband was confiding in him about the stresses of our situation. My husband would tell the friend he was going to pay him back some day for all his help. There was no record keeping done on either part to tally the amount given. After some time the friend added up all the money he gave my husband and decided that it was too much. The friend came up with a total of $12,000 and started harassing my husband to repay him. My husband offered to pay him a small amount each month because he couldn't pay more because his disability is getting worse and our financial situation is not any better than before. The friend declined this amount stating it was not enough. The friend then hired an attorney to sue us for the money. The letter from the attorney names me and states this is a community debt and states they will sue us. I have a couple of questions - (1) What is my liability to this debt? (2) Can the friend sue us when there was no arrangement made at the time the money exchanged hands?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas. My husband was given money by a friend over the course of several years. I was unaware that the friend was giving him this money. I am only being given details after the situation has escalated. From what I've been told, the friend would offer money when my husband was confiding in him about the stresses of our situation. My husband would tell the friend he was going to pay him back some day for all his help. There was no record keeping done on either part to tally the amount given. After some time the friend added up all the money he gave my husband and decided that it was too much. The friend came up with a total of $12,000 and started harassing my husband to repay him. My husband offered to pay him a small amount each month because he couldn't pay more because his disability is getting worse and our financial situation is not any better than before. The friend declined this amount stating it was not enough. The friend then hired an attorney to sue us for the money. The letter from the attorney names me and states this is a community debt and states they will sue us. I have a couple of questions - (1) What is my liability to this debt? (2) Can the friend sue us when there was no arrangement made at the time the money exchanged hands?

If you are being threatened with a lawsuit and the person threatening to sue already has an attorney, it would be smart for you and your husband to have an attorney of your own. From the little you know of the money loaned to your husband by this friend, it is impossible to advise you to do anything else.