Wife's Credit Card Bills

[really]

I just got a shock. My wife has been running up credit cards for years; she has been hiding the statements. I am not sure of the exact amount yet; but it is over 10 thousand dollars , on at least 3 cards.

How can I protect myself; I don't want to lose the house and everything I have.

Can I put a stop on any more purchases or stop any damage done from this point on? Can I draw up an aggreement that I would not be responsible for any more expenses from this day on.

She is working, but doesn't make enough to pay the bills off now; but is making payments.

Any ideas?
Perplexed in Pennsylvania

[cyjeff]

Call the credit card companies and have them stopped.

[gigirle]

What state are you in?

Find out a few things first.

Are the cards in her name only or are they joint accounts or are they her accounts with you as an authorized user or your cards with her as an authorized user.

Finding out where you belong in this mess is needed to figure out where you can go from here. If they are her accounts, and your not on them anywhere, then there is nothing that you can do.

Until then, it might be a good idea to report them "misplaced/lost" so she doesn't run them up while you figure this out.

[really]

State of Pennsylvania

In her name only. I didn't even know about the cards.

Next step: can I get some sort of injunction stating I will not be liable for any more debts after a certain date. That is what I am concerned with.
Should I file for divorce or something else; to protect myself from future debts?

[really]

The cards are not in my name. Her's only. I don't have access to the cards. She hid them.

Can I get some sort of injunction as to protect myself from future debts, from a designated date.

Should I file for divorce to protect myself from future debts? I want banckrupcy protection of some sort from possible later spending.

[aardvarc]

The very first thing you need to do is get copies of your credit reports from the 3 biggies; EquiFax, TransUnion, and Experian. By law each person is entitled to one free copy of their report each year. You can get all three at http://www.annualcreditreport.com. Don't bother paying for extra bells and whistles - your credit score is nice to have, but isn't a necessary tool to get to the bottom of this problem. Just click past the offers and get your free reports. Compare them side by side; make sure each report is listing the same accounts, and that you can identify each and every account in all 3 reports. You may be surprised to see accounts you've never heard of before, or find that accounts in good standing that could actually HELP your credit are not being reported. Dispute IN WRITING anything funky, and end each dispute letter by asking for another, corrected/updated copy of your reports. If any changes were made, those reports will be free too. Double check that the amounts showing as credit limits match with what you think your limits are, and make sure that there are no late payments that you're not aware of - these two items MASSIVELY impact your credit rating!!!!!!

There is absolutely no excuse for people to get surprises like this. Everyone needs to sit down with their spouse at least annually and compare credit reports. Not only does this help to ensure that both people are aware of where you stand as a couple, but provides at least an annual chance to find and correct problems, detect possible fraud, and prevent secret accounts and spending from potentially ruining your marriage and putting you in serious long term financial and/or legal hot water. Your credit report impacts everything from the rates you pay on credit cards, to your car insurance, homeowners insurance and other factors (even certain jobs) that could impact your family to the tune of thousands a year. Don't look at it as an 'audit' of your spouse (unless, as in this case one is obviously warranted), instead, view this as an opportunity for you as a couple to stay on top of a very important tool in your long term financial well being. If you love someone, sit down and discuss your credit reports together.

One common mistake that couples make is getting credit mostly in ONE person's name - which will really make life suck for your spouse if something should happen to you because you will have left a spouse behind with little or no credit of their own. Recent changes in credit reporting and scoring have made it so that just being an authorized user on someone else's account does NOT help the other user the way it once did. Unless you've got plans for a vindictive divorce and consciously WANT to "stick it" to your spouse, credit is something that needs to be managed TOGETHER to ensure maximum stability and security for both parties.

Then you'll want to sit down and seriously consider marriage counseling - because this type of secretive destructive behavior is NOT conducive to a healthy relationship. If she's keeping tens of thousands of dollars worth of secrets that YOU could be liable for, that should send up a huge red flag that the money is only the tip of a much larger iceberg that you need to get to the bottom of, either through counseling or divorce or ultimately both.

[aardvarc]

As far as immediate danger to you as an individual, if the accounts go into collections, your wages cannot be garnished and most property individually owned by you and you alone won't get attached. However, any joint assets you have like a home, checking account, savings, etc. COULD be at great risk.

People think they're not hurting their partners when they rack up bills like this, but the truth is that the creditor doesn't care what fair to you, they can and will take anything they can legally reach - meaning anything where you've been willing to put your name next to hers.

In SOME states, being married gives you broad rights and access, even the ability to close the account yourself. In other states, you'd have no rights at all and the credit card company couldn't even talk to you on the phone about the account. Contact a certified credit counselor in your state to figure out your options.