credit problems from a previous marraige

Submitted by jon.cuevas on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 02:45
Forums

if i have something negative on my credit report from a previous marraige, is my ex spouse required to pay a portion of the cost to have the negative discrepancy removed?

Hi Jon,

Welcome to this forum. Yes you can make your ex pay a portion of the cost to have the negative discrepancy removed. If you are on talking terms with your ex, you can request him to cooperate with you in this situation. Otherwise, if you are not in a position to pay the cost, you may have to take legal help for this. You need to settle with your ex, which portion of the cost you two will settle for.

Tue, 02/02/2010 - 04:35 Permalink

So if the liability of the debt was not agreed upon in the divorce then you would have to sue them. the owner of the debt will not go after them.

If you were an authorized user and not a co-signer you can get it removed.

Wed, 02/03/2010 - 10:31 Permalink

Jon. You could also sue your ex in small claims court. I have seen people do that. there are set limits,depending upon the state you are in. I am wondering were you an authorized user on this account or were you a co-signer. If you were just an authorized user you would more than likely not be responsible for paying it. (Be sure to check your states statute of limitations before paying ANY debt). You could dispute it if you were only an authorized user and see if you can get it removed.

Wed, 02/03/2010 - 20:30 Permalink

Yes one can sue, but the ex is not legally obligated to pay if not mentioned in the divorce papers.

Thu, 02/04/2010 - 06:35 Permalink

Actually, not mentioning the account in the divorce papers leaves it ambiguous. if they are not on the account in any way, you have to sue them. if you are both on the account then the creditor will come after who ever is easier to get.

Thu, 02/04/2010 - 11:45 Permalink
jon (not verified)

we were joint owners of the account but the reason the account went so high into debt was becasue she went shopping with the credit card. they would most likely come looking for me since i was the primary account holder i would think because as far as i know, she hasn't been contacted for it at all.

Mon, 02/08/2010 - 09:18 Permalink

Hi Jon,

As Justin and cinnamngrl has advised, you can first request your ex to co-operate with you in this situation. However if she doesn't agree, you can even sue her. But it would have been much better if the liability of the debt would have been mentioned in the divorce.

Mon, 02/08/2010 - 09:32 Permalink