I have totally screwed up my credit to the point where it is hopeless. I only screwed up mine, not my wife's. I decided to file bankruptcy, but she will not. This means that she will preserve her credit so that we can at least get a car and other stuff in the future. I think in the end it will work out ok. Before I go see a bankruptcy attorney, I need to work through some issues so that I can at least discuss them intelligently with the attorney. Here is the big one. About five years ago, we got a credit card with airline miles as a come on. I do not have the application and do not remember if we both applied for it jointly, if I applied for it and asked for a card for her, if it was done online, or through the mail. We both got cards and both used them for a couple years. We finally came to the conclusion that the card was not a good deal - annual fee, few airline miles, etc. and decided to cancel and get another card. I cut up both cards and mailed them back to the issuer telling them to close the account. There was a 0 balance when it was closed. A few months later, things started going bad for me financially. One of the telemarketers called me from that company and said they wanted me as a customer and said she would reactivate my card. I told her ok, but never told my wife. I got a new card but they did not send her one. They never acknowledged my letter cancelling the cards so I cannot prove I sent it, except that all charges stopped on the old card for awhile, and then resumed on the new card they issued to me. Eventually I used the card and now owe $9000 on it. This is just one of many cards I have that I did not tell my wife about. Obviously, I would like to wipe out this debt with the others in bankruptcy but I am concerned that they will consider it a joint account and go after my wife, even though she knew nothing about it when it was reactivated. If she is liable, I guess we would have to keep it outside bankruptcy and pay it off eventually. It shows up on our credit reports as joint. But, they never reactivated her card and never sent her a new one. How do I find out ahead of time how this will be treated? This is my screwup, and I do not want to destroy her credit also. I can't really force the issue with the creditor by including it in bankruptcy and claiming it is not her debt, because the creditor may sue her, which destroys her credit. Any idea on how to get this resolved before I file? Yes, she does know now about what I did and we are working through it. And, yes I realize I am a slimeball. This question is really for her, the innocent party. And yes, I am getting help for my depression and other problems. And, no, she has not killed me, although I suspect it crossed her mind.
Well, you could try calling up the company and telling them you want her removed as an authorized user. They would then tell you if you could not remove her because she is a joint holder and you could go from there with a little more information than you currently have. L
There's no such thing as "keeping it outside of bankruptcy". You have to file on all of your debts, and debts of equal status are all treated the same. If this is a joint account, it will show up on your wife's credit report as "in bankruptcy" unless she fights it tooth and nail (and even then she shouldn't count on getting that off - it IS true), and she will be held responsible for the whole balance if you file out from under it. I should think it would be possible for HER to borrow $9k now, pay it off, and close the card before YOU file BK, but it might be interpreted as a "preferential transfer" by the court, so you'd need to ask an attorney before doing so. Otherwise, I don't see how you keep her out of it. If you are in a community property state, she's hosed anyway, since she'll be held liable for ALL of the debt once you file. If you ARE in a community property state, she needs to come to grips with the concept. Either the two of you, TOGETHER, pay off everything, or the TWO of you file BK. Why don't you just ask the CCC? You don't have to tell them why you're asking.
I added my wife as "JOINT" to all my accounts after we got married...then when she wanted her OWN credit, she couldn't...somebody suggested that I get rid of her off some of my accounts...SO I TRIED...MERVYNS & JC PENNEYS wanted to know for what marital problems...DIVORSE, SEPARATION, ETC.~~~NO PROBLEMS???---sorry NO MARITAL PROBLEMS~~~YOU CAN'T GET RID OF HER!!! OK CLOSE THE ACCOUNT!!! Their refusal to remove her was going to cause MARITAL PROBLEMS!!!!!!!
There are provisions in the BK code that protect the spouse. ALL CAs will claim that it is not true just to get the spouse to pay on a joint debt that was discharged. If you have a decent level of intellect, go read the BK code yourself and arm yourself with knowledge. When I filed my individual BK13, I listed ALL debts, mine AND his. This was to protect me. In the process, I protected him from his creditors. So long as we are married, they cannot collect against him because the BK courts look at it as collecting against me.
