3 defaulted cards?

pitbullpeebs

My wife & I have separated & have sold the house (Stc) with the money we have made from the sale we had originally agreed to pay our debts off completely, we have a joint loan then I have 3 credit cars & she has 1. Now she is saying she only wants to pay her own 1 off & I pay mine. This will leave me out of pocket plus she helped run up the debt on my cards. I was under the impression that if you are married then they are classed as joint debts?

InsideInsurance

This isnt a credit card question but a marriage one and so may be better off on the board that covers divorce.

From a credit card perspective the debit is simply in the name of the account holder. However when you divorce debts and assets are split. Exactly how this is done is down to agreement between the couple but generally it starts on the premise of 50/50 unless there is good reason why it should be otherwise.

In practice its rarely possible to physically split everything and so there is horsetrading, you keep the car but you get more of the debt etc so the net effect is 50/50 or as agreed.

shane1104

afaik, only the person who signed the credit agreement is financially liable, so if it was your C/Card and she was additional cardholder, she still holds no liability to pay.

fermi

pitbullpeebs wrote: »

I was under the impression that if you are married then they are classed as joint debts?

No, they they are the person's who is liable under the terms of the credit agreements.

On credit cards that is the account holder and not any additional card holder, even if they use their card to run the bill up.

You may have recourse separately to the civil courts against her, or maybe not, or maybe in family proceedings, although not something I'm that familiar with, but as far as you and the credit card company go, it is your bill and yours only.

Anthorn

pitbullpeebs wrote: »

My wife & I have separated & have sold the house (Stc) with the money we have made from the sale we had originally agreed to pay our debts off completely, we have a joint loan then I have 3 credit cars & she has 1. Now she is saying she only wants to pay her own 1 off & I pay mine. This will leave me out of pocket plus she helped run up the debt on my cards. I was under the impression that if you are married then they are classed as joint debts?

Your credit cards so you pay them off. Your ex-wife can volunteer to help with them but she cannot be forced to do so.


You know, it's very nice to share when you are young and in love but when it turns sour so do your debts. Don't trust your own mother and especially don't trust your own spouse!

pitbullpeebs

When I spoke to a solicitor they told me that if the debt was accumulated while we were married then are liable also. They were spent on the both of us not just me.

molerat

They could be held liable to you under a divorce settlement which is enforceable through the civil courts but only the named debtor is liable to pay the card company.

InsideInsurance

Anthorn wrote: »

Your credit cards so you pay them off. Your ex-wife can volunteer to help with them but she cannot be forced to do so.

She can but that is between him and her rather than the bank and her as she isnt the account holder.

Any payment to balance assets and debts would be global however and it if it is from her to the OP it is then his choice if he uses that to pay down any debts or some other purpose but he then has no further recourse against her

andyfromotley

Anthorn wrote: »

Your credit cards so you pay them off. Your ex-wife can volunteer to help with them but she cannot be forced to do so.


You know, it's very nice to share when you are young and in love but when it turns sour so do your debts. Don't trust your own mother and especially don't trust your own spouse!

This isn't strictly correct. You are solely responsible for paying the debt back to the CC company. However it is an everyday occurrence that a divorce settlement takes account of the debts incurred during the marriage and alters the split of assets accordingly, to enable that person to settle those debts.

It doesn't sound to me as if you have legal advice. if not you need to get some, before the house sells and the proceeds are split. (this would probably have prevented this situation arising)

Depending on the amount just threaten to pull out of the house sale until a legally binding agreement is signed. Get thee to a solicitor.

PaulW922

Credit cards are not held jointly, unlike some bank accounts and mortgages. You can have a card in one partner's name and the other can be an authorised user but that is all.

If you are married that does not automatically make debts joint. However in contested divorce proceedings issues like yours often raise their head. They are principally subject to divorce and family law and not consumer credit law. If the card is in your name the card company can pursue you for the money regardless of who ran up the debt. Anything else is a separate matter between you and your ex.

You can ask the court to award you funds from the joint estate for the debt but that does not make the agreement between you and the bank a joint one with you, the bank and your ex. I agree with the comment above - you need to get proper advice. Divorce and separation are expensive!

Anthorn

andyfromotley wrote: »

This isn't strictly correct. You are solely responsible for paying the debt back to the CC company. However it is an everyday occurrence that a divorce settlement takes account of the debts incurred during the marriage and alters the split of assets accordingly, to enable that person to settle those debts.

It doesn't sound to me as if you have legal advice. if not you need to get some, before the house sells and the proceeds are split. (this would probably have prevented this situation arising)

Depending on the amount just threaten to pull out of the house sale until a legally binding agreement is signed. Get thee to a solicitor.

The OP and his wife are separated, not divorced. In any case it will be quicker and cheaper to do it through a civil court, i.e. County Court. But any court worth its salt or even not worth its salt will require proof before a judgement is made. Does the OP have receipts which prove the debt was incurred by his wife? As I said, with his wife's agreement but that's voluntary.