Legal remedies?

[pawnman]

My brother has just gone through a divorce. They split up the bills, including the credit cards. Got a court order detailing the splits and all. Now she is failing in her part to pay the bills, and the creditors are constantly calling my brother. He told them that he has a court order, and they "laughed and asked if he thought he was the only one to ever be divorced?".

So, what are the possible remedies? Should he take her back to court and try to get her wages garnished? Should he try to get her arrested for violating the court order? Are the credit card companies full of it when they tell my brother that you can't transfer liability, even with a court order?

Legal help is greatly appreciated.

[Bigboper123]

:smileroll Yeah I have been so curious about this subject, I think this is a good thread to disscuss. :T

[Faeawyn]

Been there done that. Court ordered hubby to pay debt...hubby couldn't pay debt...collectors came after me and took my house and my car. Then ex-hubby filed bankruptcy....all the debt legally became mine anyway, so I had to file bankruptcy as well. It sucked...lowest point of my life.
If there is legal recourse...take it. Otherwise, the creditors are telling the truth.

[Bigboper123]

awww crap that sux-orz you mean I get farged by the comanies and her

[pawnman]

awww crap that sux-orz you mean I get farged by the comanies and her

That's "5|_|XX0r", you n00b.

[Faeawyn]

Whatever your name is on you're liable for. It doesn't matter to them what the courts said. If your name is on the paper....they'll get you.

[pawnman]

You know, she works with me. One guy we worked with was fired for having debt problems. I wonder if she could get fired for having a court order against her that she isn't holding up to?

[pawnman]

Whatever your name is on you're liable for. It doesn't matter to them what the courts said. If your name is on the paper....they'll get you.

So what the hell good is the court order in cases of divorce? Can the courts force her to pay my brother for the money she isn't paying to the credit card companies?

[Gwenhwyfar]

Where I am they split the dept in half and each pays half...thats if both names are on the loan. The creditors only come after you for your half, if the other party doesnt pay, thats the collectors problem, nobody els'.

[Faeawyn]

So what the hell good is the court order in cases of divorce? Can the courts force her to pay my brother for the money she isn't paying to the credit card companies?
Here in Florida....no good whatsoever. I can't tell you how frustrating it was....or how many times I heard..."we don't care what the court said M'am....you're still responsible".

[pawnman]

Where I am they split the dept in half and each pays half...thats if both names are on the loan. The creditors only come after you for your half, if the other party doesnt pay, thats the collectors problem, nobody els'.

Interesting. So if she doesn't pay, and my brother does, then the credit card companies are SOL...if they're both on the accounts. But if it's only him on the account, then he has to continually wheedle money out of her for the bills.

I ask again, why the hell did he bother to get a court order?

[Bigboper123]

Where I am they split the dept in half and each pays half...thats if both names are on the loan. The creditors only come after you for your half, if the other party doesnt pay, thats the collectors problem, nobody els'.
yeah that is what happened here I got a loan from my" rents" and paid off all of mine and she is thinking about paying hers. :wtf:

[Gwenhwyfar]

Interesting. So if she doesn't pay, and my brother does, then the credit card companies are SOL...if they're both on the accounts. But if it's only him on the account, then he has to continually wheedle money out of her for the bills.

I ask again, why the hell did he bother to get a court order?Being that they were married its more than likely their both on the accounts, and with a court order saying she has to pay half, well, she has to pay half...If I were your brother Id tell the collectors "Im paying/Have paid my half, piss off and find her for the other half". Its not his problem, or at least it shouldn't be.

edited to add: the same thing happened to my husband with his ex, the collectors stopped calling when he gave them her phone number.lol

[Bigboper123]

Being that they were married its more than likely their both on the accounts, and with a court order saying she has to pay half, well, she has to pay half...If I were your brother Id tell the collectors "Im paying/Have paid my half, piss off and find her for the other half". Its not his problem, or at least it shouldn't be.

edited to add: the same thing happened to my husband with his ex, the collectors stopped calling when he gave them her phone number.lol
No such luck dear for you see I am he and I be a dumba** all the cards were in my name which means I be farky :ahhhhhhh:

[Gwenhwyfar]

No such luck dear for you see I am he and I be a dumba** all the cards were in my name which means I be farky :ahhhhhhh:

O.....well that sucks man!! Does the court order specify wich bills she is to pay half of? Or does it just say she pays half the bills? Either way, if it says she has to pay half then she does, unfortunatly for you because her name wasnt on the account you might have to pay it yourself now and take her to court for it later, to save yourself the bad mark on your credit report...Maybe you could tell her to pay it or shes going to be responsible for new court fees as well as the bills, when you have to take her back to court. Id call the courthouse, it might just be a matter of filing a couple papers to report her for not complying with a court order and a small fee...I dont know, Im a legal assistant but Iv mainly delt with child custody cases...good luck though!

[Bigboper123]

they specify which bills she will be responsible for

[Gwenhwyfar]

they specify which bills she will be responsible for
Well thats good, at least you know what youll get back then. If you go ahead and pay it the courts will make her give it back, even if it takes wage garnishment to do it...it just might take a little more time.

[NiftyWings]

Might be a good idea to talk to a lawyer who's experienced in debt collection law. Collection agencies will tell you all kinds of crap to get you to hand over money, and they're not always telling the truth.

[Gwenhwyfar]

Might be a good idea to talk to a lawyer who's experienced in debt collection law. Collection agencies will tell you all kinds of crap to get you to hand over money, and they're not always telling the truth.
For sure!

[Rowan Darkmoon]

This is true, collection agencies will do a lot of shady things to get their money. However, I believe if it is in your name, you are responsible for it no matter what the courts say because you agreed to pay for in the beginning when you signed for the credit cards. Which sucks.

Maybe you can talk to someone familiar with debt collection, and see if you can have the cards put in her name, or see if you can get another loan, pay off the creditors, and then work something out legally on the side with her. If she agreed to pay half, then set up a way for her to pay you back the half she owes, and take the credit card companies out of it if you can. That way, you can take her to court and garnish her wages and all that good stuff if she has a contract with you.

[Amethyst Rose]

I once had a collection agency tell me that I was responsible for my ex-roommates phonebill, because I was his roommate, and therefore, used the phone. The phone was in his name, I gave him money to pay the bills, but he didn't pay them... one of the reasons I kicked him out. They stopped bugging me when I gave them his new phone number, but they still tried to charge me $300 (coincidently the amount of the debt) as a deposit for me to get my own phone number. It took my mom (I was 18 at the time) calling their headquarters and talking to someone high up to get them to let me pay the usual $100 deposit.

[sarabethv]

Since you were married at the time of the debts you are both separately and together liable for the entire debt. They cannot collect twice, so if she pays they cannot then come after you for the amount. As for the court order - what you can do is take her to small claims court and they will find in favor of the court order. However, getting her to actually pay is another matter.

Definately talk to a lawyer about the issue - one who is experienced in debt collection/bankrupcy/and maybe divorce law if you can.

Each state has their own laws regarding such things.

Sorry, but the same type of thing has happened to me. The only bills my ex had that didn't come after me were his school loans.

Good luck.

[morrigan]

with my divorce i got all the bills but then i also got everything we owned so i didnt complain too much.. about all i could think of to do is for your bro to pay the bills so his credit doesnt get screwed and then sue his ex.. not sure if that would work.. might be something to look into..