Assignment in a Divorce Proceeding

Even if one spouse was not originally liable for the debt, he or she may be liable if the family court judge assigns the debt obligation to him or her. Being assigned certain debt does not change the contractual terms between the spouses and the credit card company because the family court does not have jurisdiction over this contract. Therefore, a judge cannot change the terms of the contract. However, if a judge assigns the debt and the assigned party fails to pay off the debt as ordered, the other spouse can sue the first for violating the divorce decree and seek reimbursement for damages that he or she has suffered. The judge may also find the spouse to be in contempt of court for not following the order he or she made.

Necessaries

Some states will hold a spouse liable for the other’s debt if the debt was incurred for necessaries. This includes medical care, food and other such items deemed necessary by state law. Some states define these items as household articles or supplies that were purchased for the family and used by the family. The creditor may pursue the other spouse if the liable spouse does not have adequate funds to pay off this debt. This rule may still apply even if two spouses are separated and have been for some time. However, a court may consider the amount of time that the couple has been separated before holding the other spouse liable for such necessaries. Other states do not impose liability if the item was purchased while the couple was separated. Additionally, state law may require that the creditor demonstrate clear and convincing evidence that such debt is considered a necessary.

Debt upon Death

If the spouse who is liable for the debt dies, the other spouse is generally not liable for paying off this debt so long as it was not a joint account. However, the deceased spouse’s estate would be liable, which may affect the surviving spouse. The personal representative would be responsible for paying the outstanding bill out of property that was jointly owned by the deceased spouse and surviving spouse.

Authorized User -Liable?

Authorized users of credit card accounts are not financially responsible for payment of the accounts. But that won’t stop some collectors from asking you to pay. Some reasons they may give is to keep the memory of the person clear or that he would have wanted it that way. The next time you get a call, explain to them that you know your rights and that you are not legally responsible.

Ask them to send you a copy of the original agreement for the credit card account. They just might respond with, “We can’t send information regarding this account to you because you are not the owner of the account.” This would allow you to respond, “I rest my case.” Keep all your documentation with the lender in case you need it for a collector down the road.

Most credit card agreements include a provision that the cardholder is wholly responsible for any authorized use by a secondary cardholder or authorized user. The cardholder agreement is a contract between the card issuer and the person who owns the account. Those persons added to the account as authorized users do not in any way enter into an agreement with the card issuer and are therefore not responsible for any charges associated with the account.

In the case of a death of the primary cardholder, some authorized users get into trouble by charging on the account after that person’s death. If the card issuer can prove that the charges were knowingly and fraudulently made after the death of the cardholder, the authorized user could be held responsible for any charges made after that date.

You might want to contact the credit bureaus and dispute the account. They should take it off your report. I suggest you do this soon because, should the creditor report the account holder as deceased, it may show on your report and a credit report with any deceased notation on it is not eligible to receive a credit score.