Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

You need to see the loan papers; if your husband signed only as the owner of the business and not as an individual, it would be less likely that you would have signed as an individual. If it does appear that you did sign and your signature is not a forgery [what does your husband tell you; husband to wife communications is privileged and a third party -- not part of the marriage -- can not ask either for the information] then you are going to have problems. You need to see who the judgment is against. If you are not named as a party, then there is no judgment against you. If you were named but never served there should be no judgment against you.

You probably do need an attorney to look over the various papers [which can be mailed or faxed] and recommend what you can do both for the hearing [may be a debtor's examination] and any possible future problems fromte loan. You want to be sure that the credit reporting agencies do not have a negative report saying there was a judgment against you.

If you do want further legal help, please contact me at 510-441-2684 or [email protected]

Also, if your husband's business was community property - which it may well have been - the loan he took out may be a "community debt" for which both of you are responsible. As Mr. Shers indicates, it would be important to determine whether you were named in the lawsuit and/or the judgment, but that might not be the end of the story. You should consult with an attorney immediately.