Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts
Wife's debt, whose responsibilty in small claims?
My wife incurred a credit card debt (card was only in her name) within the year before we were married. This debt was sent to collection before we were married. A couple of days ago, she received a summons to small claims court from a lawyer representing the credit card company. My question is, if she goes and the court finds in favor of the creditor, can they attempt to collect from me/our assets now? Or because the debt was hers before marriage, can they only go after her? I ask this because if the latter, it potentially give us more leverage in negotiating prior to court for favorable payment terms.
Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Wife's debt, whose responsibilty in small claims?
If the card was only in her name, the creditor cannot go after your assets. However, a creditor may, under certain circumstances, seek to levy or lien joint property. It depends on the nature of the debt, and the nature of the property and how it is held by the both of you, as well as other factors too numerous to list here.
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