Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Wisconsin

Bad Credit Due to Child's Identity Stolen by Parent

In addition to hiring an attorney, the first step for any victim of identity theft is to report the crime to law enforcement authorities, which would probably result in an arrest warrant for the mother. Unless the victim has an affidavit of forgery on file, none of the banks is likely to believe her and grant her any relief (and still might not, even after the crime is reported). The Federal Trade Commission's web site (ftc dot gov)has a great deal of free information available. At minimum, it will be necessary to challenge each debt with all three credit bureaus via a copy of the police report. There is also a procedure for getting a new social security number in severe cases if nothing else succeeds. Finally, a last resort and often the easiest step is that of filing bankruptcy on the debt, since the result will be legal forgiveness (discharge) of the debts, regardless of who incurred them, if the bankruptcy is successful. Since many children are hesitant to potentially put their parents in jail regardless of what they have done, this is an increasingly popular option for an all too common problem.