Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Illinois

Credit card debt

Hi,

My wife has a bad credit card debt. I did not know about this until it was charged off. What if the credit company gets a judgement, because we are in no position to pay the debt.

My name is not on the credit card account. Will I be held responsible for this default? We currently rent a place and don't own any property. We have a joint account and an individual account in my name. Can any/all of these accounts be made a target for a lien?

Thanks


Asked on 1/02/09, 6:25 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Motty Stone Law Offices of Motty Stone

Re: Credit card debt

Depending on how bad your wife's situation is, she might also consider filing for bankruptcy. Your wife can file individually, leaving your credit out of the process, and thereby eliminate all her credit card debt. Meanwhile you can use your better credit to get things like credit cards or home loans.

Feel free to call if you want to talk about the details.

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Answered on 1/04/09, 3:52 pm
Lesley Hoenig Lesley A. Hoenig, Attorney at Law

Re: Credit card debt

If you are not on the debt, they will not go after you personally. If a judgment is obtained, they can put a lien against anything your wife owns, including her car (though it's rare for a creditor to go after a car), but they can garnish the joint account(but if you can prove what funds are yours, you can contest the amount that can be taken) and her wages can be garnished.

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Answered on 1/02/09, 1:02 pm


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