Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia
My husband has recently become ill and can not work. Am I responsible for his debts even if my name if not on them? What can they do to me? Also if I have several thousands of dollars in a savings account can they take that to satisfy his debt?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Yes, you could be held responsible for some or all of them and yes your account could be garnished. You should consider seeing an attorney about this asap. An attorney can advise you on how to protect yourself and your money, depending on your specific financial circumstances. Good luck.
Generally, no, if these are not joint accounts, your name is not listed
on the accounts as an authorized user, and in fact you made none of the charges attributed to these accounts. However, it's possible that if any of these charges were incurred for the so-called "necessaries of life" in your husband's behalf, e.g., shelter, food, medical care, etc. that you could be held reponsible for these kinds of charges under Virginia law.
As to your second question, your husband's creditors could not take
the funds in your savings account to satisfy his debts unless
they first took you to court and obtained a valid judgment aginst you for
the amounts in question (not too likely under the facts described in my
opinion).