Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

If both your mother-in-law and father-in-law signed the loan document, then both are going to be responsible and if he does not pay for whatever reason, then your mother-in-law is going to be stuck. There is simply no way to force your father-in-law to pay if he does not wish to do so.

Is your mother-in-law alert mentally? To take the aggravation off of her, your mother-in-law could give your wife power of attorney over her finances for just these loans or in general if she feels comfortable in doing so. In that way, your wife will have authority to speak on her mother's behalf and to direct that correspondence be sent to your wife.

What assets does your mother-in-law have? At age 91, if she does not have anything, then your wife could write a letter to the creditor and tell them that the mother-in-law is 91, that your wife has a power of attorney (attach a copy) and not to bother your mother-in-law as she cannot pay. What will they do? Sue? Your mother-in-law could pass away at any time (we hope not of course, but its more of a reality given her age). If the mother-in-law has nothing the creditor will get nothing.

Also, PA has a law that states that a creditor cannot harass you if they know you are represented by an attorney. For a fee, I will advise that I represent you, but the creditors may want to know why. Will it be to settle her debts? I can do that as well if your mother-in-law is interested.

There is a risk of me writing to the creditor if your mother-in-law has no intention of settling the debt. While phone calls are annoying, calls are a lot better than getting sued. If I were advising your mother-in-law, I would tell your mother-in-law to ignore the calls. The creditors have a right to call, but there is no law that states that (1) just because the phone rings, your mother-in-law must answer; or (2) that she has to speak to the creditors. Nothing good will ever come from her speaking to the creditors.

If she does not have caller id, get it for her as a present or work out some kind of system where your mother does not answer unless a special call signal is worked out (i.e. allowing the phone to ring 4 times, hanging up and calling back or something like that).

Otherwise, do the power of attorney as I suggested and write to the creditors. The calls will diminish in 90-180 days. After that, the creditor will send this to a debt collector and the process will begin anew. However, given your mother-in-law's age, I would try to make this as non-aggravating as possible and would let the creditors call you.

Although you do not indicate, when was the loan taken out? Why did your mother-in-law sign if she has been separated for 45 years? While your father-in-law could be ordered to pay the debt in a divorce and equitable distribution action, if your mother-in-law's name is on the loan, it is possible that your father-in-law could still refuse to pay. If that happens, the equitable distribution order or settlement agreement would not be binding on any creditor and your mother-in-law would still have to pay the loan. If your father-in-law has assets, it might be something to consider, but at this stage, given the age of the parties, I don't think a divorce and division of assets and debts would be financially worthwhile.

While your mother-in-law should consult an estate planning attorney for the financial power of attorney, if she does not need estate planning, you can download a power of attorney for Pennsylvania, for free at www.ilrg.com. Use the form archive and find the power of attorney for Pennsylvania under personal forms.

Your mother-in-law must be competent to sign it and have it witnessed and notarized.

Here is the link:

http://www.ilrg.com/forms/powerofattorney-gd/us/pa