Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia
Spousal identity theft
My mother is divorcing my father. He secretly obtained 33 credit cards in her name and maxed them out. She had no knowledge of any of this till she got a credit report for her attorney. Is she responsible for this? Is this criminal identity theft? What will happen to my father? My father is a manic depressive and during the divorce proceedings is under the care of a mental illness doctor.
My mother was physically and mentally abused for over 30 years and is divorcing based on those facts. My mother is physically disabled and receives a monthly stipend from social security. That is all she has to live on.
Please give me a general scenario for what they may be facing in court.
Thanks
K
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Spousal identity theft
You should contact a local attorney immediately to discuss all of the facts of this situation. I don't have enough information based on what you have stated to give you a reliable answer.
Re: Spousal identity theft
It is vital that the moment she discovered the fraud she made police reports and got a warrant for his arrest. Otherwise, in essence, the banks are going to figure the accounts were opened with her consent. Hopefully she was told to do that BEFORE the divorce is filed, as bringing criminal charges during the divorce may tend to look vindictive and may be problematic. She needs to ask her divorce lawyer on that.
It is also absolutely vital that within 30 days of her discovery of this that she sent certified letters to each creditor reporting the fraud.
If criminal charges were brought: he may be going to jail, getting sued by the creditors for fraud, or going to get put away for mental health evaluation.
She may find that a bankruptcy would be an easy way to clear her liability if she sat on her rights too long.
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