Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia
Ex wife i o u to inlaw made before divorce
My exwife and I borrowed $30,000 from mother and signed an iou with payment schedule etc with both our signatures. No money was paid back by either of us, a couple of years later we were divorced ( uncontested ) with the general her bills are hers and mine are mine and i made no claim on the house. We both agreed verbally ( not in the settlement.. i know this was dumb on my part )that she could well afford the extra costs and i would be only giving birthday , christmas , vacations type of gifts ( which i have been more than generous with help with college, car maintenances etc. The ex has gone far over her financial means and is now sueing me for back payment of about $22,000, this affects my means of supporting my mother ( 72 years old )pension of around $800 per month which is not near enough to handle her bills since she still lives on her own and i always have made up any shortage of cash. I would now want my mother to collect on the debt ( signed 10 yrs ago )since I am still helping out but really can no longer handle both payments. Is this i o u still valid after this length of time ? Will my mother have to sue both of us or can she try to collect my ex's half of the loan , with interest ?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Ex wife i o u to inlaw made before divorce
Your mother can sue either or both of you if she wishes, because you are probably "jointly and severally liable". That means that, as between you and her, both of you owe the entire amount, and each of you does, individually, too. If she sues the ex, the ex can join you in the suit and demand contribution from you, if she knows how to do that (or if she hires a lawyer). Either way, as between her and mom, she owes the entire amount, but as between you and ex, she only owes half and is legally entitled to get half from you of whatever she has to pay in principal and interest and costs.
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