Question: Before my wife and I got divorced she did a lot of shopping. She would take credit cards and to North Point Mall, Perimeter Mall, Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square Mall and buy stuff she wanted. She’d buy clothes & shoes, jewelry (she likes gold, diamonds, pearls & Swiss watches) and electronics, like the iPad and iPhone. We got divorced and she filed for bankruptcy. Now I’m getting letters from American Express, MasterCard, Discover and Visa saying that I owe them money. Do I? Since we got divorced and she filed for bankruptcy am I liable for her purchases?
Answer: This is a very common question from people who are considering divorce or who have divorced already because there are great shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities in Atlanta, Buckhead, North Fulton County and Forsyth County. And it sounds like your ex-wife liked to shop and that she liked the “finer” things.
You may be liable for her purchases. If you were a co-signor on the credit applications, as opposed to merely an authorized user, you would be liable. So even though your former wife filed for bankruptcy the credit card issuers can attempt to collect the money from you. (Because she filed bankruptcy-probably a chapter 7, as opposed to a chapter 13-the creditors cannot sue her.) They can, however, sue you, and garnish your wages and freeze your bank accounts. Or they can sell the debt to a collection agency or other type of debt collector like Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, PC or Zwicker and Associates. Also, you would be liable for all of the outstanding charges she made–her filing bankruptcy would not, for instance, eliminate half the debt.
Please call us directly at (678) 712-8561 to discuss the specifics of your situation and how we can assist you.