Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New Jersey
debt collectors
Over 15 yrs ago, my wife (of 1 year) secretly forged my name to a number of applications for credit cards & cash advances and accumulated thousands of dollars for herself in the process. This led to our divorce, thru which she continually sidestepped court orders asking an accounting of this money � even though she never denied taking it.
I contacted all the companies involved and after seeing my documentation, they each agreed to me (in writing) that I was not to be held liable for these debts. Now, after all these years, a couple of these debts have apparently been scooped up by scavenger collection agencies who have begun harassing phone calls (which I now simply do not answer).
Aside from the statements by the original lenders that I was not the guilty party, I�ve also read about statutes of limitations (I live in NJ) that, in this case, have been far exceeded.
From all of the above, do I still look at all liable? What action (if any) should I now be taking?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: debt collectors
You are correct, the 6 year SOL is way passed. If your divorce was handled the right way, your ex-wife would be responsible for these debts still but that is rarely done. You "should" be able to handle this yourself but you may find yourself hitting a road block at some point. If that happens, feel free to give me or some other lawyer a call. It shouldn't be expensive for a lawyer to help you with this.
On a side note, have you checked your credit report lately?