Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

One of the reasons my husband and I are getting a divorce is because he used my father's Social Security Number to acquire several credit cards. When I first discovered that he had done this, I thought we could pay off the balances and move on. My husband promised me that he would stop using the cards and would not acquire new cards in this manner. I agreed to help him make payments on these accounts. Several months ago, I discovered that he was still using at least one of the accounts. He managed three or more accounts online, so I was unaware of most of the activity.

As part of the divorce agreement, he is saying that I am responsible for half of the total debt -- because he used these cards when we were on vacation, etc. (I thought he was using our debit card for most of these expenses.)

My question -- If my father presses charges, would I be considered "guilty" -- with legal consequences -- because I unknowingly "benefited" from these accounts (on vacation, etc.) and made regular payments on these accounts?


Asked on 8/17/09, 7:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Maury Beaulier612.240.8005 Minnesota Lawyers

An criminal offense requires an "intent" to do an act that constitutes a crime. Since you have no "intent" - it would be unlikely that you could be charged with any criminal offense. If the debt was incurred during the marriage for marital purposes, however, you can be held responsible for one half of that debt since you also benefitted from it. You would have benefitted whether it was your card or another card.

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Answered on 8/22/09, 11:30 pm


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