Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

I recently got divorced back in June, and as a part of the ruling the judge had agreed with the verbal agreement my then husband and I had: I was to take care of the debt he left behind in my name, while he took care of the debt owed to his uncle. I recently got a thing in the mail from my ex's uncle asking about the money that was owed. Before the separation when we went to his uncle for a loan, both of us signed paperwork his uncle had typed up agreeing to pay back his uncle. Am I still obligated through the paperwork with his uncle or does the court ruling in the divorce override that ? I just want to make sure my ex's uncle can't go after me in court. The debt loan his uncle gave us was for approximately $20 grand, which is the same amount my ex had racked up while married to me. Since what he racked up was in my name, I told him I'd take care of paying that off, if he agreed to let me out of what was owed to his uncle and that he would agree to it. He agreed, and for a while it seemed like he was doing as he was told. Now I'm getting mail from his uncle demanding payment. I can't pay his uncle, I can barely cover my own bills, while my ex has a steady job. What can I do to protect myself ?


Asked on 10/27/11, 8:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

Sorry, the uncle was not party to your divorce case, and you are still responsible to him for any debt you undertook from him. If he takes legal action against you, you can bring your ex into the case as a third-party defendant, or if the uncle sues him too, you would file a cross-claim citing the ruling in the divorce. You could also take preemptive action by filing a show cause order against your ex for violating the court order about being solely responsible for paying off the uncle. If you had an attorney at the time of your divorce, he or she should have protected you by trying to get the uncle to release you as a condition of your letting the ex off the hook for the bills he ran up on your account.

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Answered on 10/28/11, 8:33 am


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