Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts

Re: Credit Card obligation

Since the credit-card issuer was not involved in the divorce, it is not bound by the court order that says your ex has to pay it. If he does not, the issuer will be looking for you to pay. You should have asked your divorce lawyer, who would have told you that the only way to make sure he pays it is to make him pay the balance off immediately.

The card issuer may - may - be limited to the charges you actually made, and may be allowed to add any charges for necessities that you charged for the household benefit. Without reading the actual agreement, it is difficult to be certain. Even then, the question will be, is it going to cost more to fight the credit card company than to pay it?

If neither of you can pay the credit card payments or the balance, and if that means one or both of you have seriously over-extended credit obligations, you may want to file bankruptcy. If you file, the burden of paying the card will be on your ex. If he is not yet officially an ex, you can file a joint petition, but you have to file before the divorce is final. If he files for bankruptcy, the card issuer will definitely go after you for whatever it can.

If he does not pay, and you do not want to file bankruptcy, your only other option will be to file a complaint against him for contempt, which may not work unless the order is very specific as to how and when this card balance is to be paid. On the other hand, it will cost him to fight the contempt, so he may be better off paying it.