Do I Need a Lawyer

i would get a lawyer. there are some companies that will do it for low cost, maybe ask through your county or something? i have no idea how to go about using a lawyer, but get the phone book and call around i spose.

good luck.
this really sucks, and i want you to know that everything will be ok. if you feel like it, pray. that always helps me feel better... just knowing God IS there.

As you will most likely still be dealing with these calls regardless of getting a lawyer or not, for now i would refer these callers to your husbands cellphone number or his work. If your husband is home, hand over the phone. If none of these options are do-able, you don't have to take the calls. If you get stuck with one, hang up.

You need a lawyer. You may have to declare bankruptcy. Bill collectors don't care if you are responsible for the money or not, when an account is turned over to them they get paid a percentage of what they collect.

Please don't assume that you're not legally responsible for the loans because you didn't sign them--whether or not you'll be held responsible does depend on the laws of the state you're in. A community property state (e.g. Wisconsin) may hold you responsible. I don't know that for sure, but you really should consult an attorney, or as someone else mentioned, a financial advisor. Legal Aid is one option--even if you don't qualify, they may have private attorneys they work with who you can contact. Also, the Twin Cities has a group called the Volunteer Lawyers Network. Even if you don't qualify, income-wise, for their services, they may have a good referral network. If you're in Wis, or another state, you can contact the state bar association (Google or look in a phone book), and ask how their referral networks works. Good luck in sorting this out--it sounds incredibly stressful!

Find an attorney - now. The laws vary from state to state but you could have your personal wages garnished, house taken, etc... There are volunteer lawyer networks and most will do a consultation free of charge so you can figure out what you are dealing with and how to move forward. Good luck!

Hi J.,

I would for sure contact an attorney. I know they are expensive, but you could be very close to having your own wages garnished, or from having a lien put on some property, or being brought to court. Sometimes, all a collection agency needs to back down a little is to receive a letter from an attorney. ;-) Most attorneys will do a free consultation.

I don't know about WI, but in MN, you can tell a collection agency in writing that you don't want them to call you any more. They can still send you stuff in the mail, but they HAVE to stop calling you. In MN, the Attorney General's office handles collection agency complaints. I would suggest calling the WI Attorney General's office to see what your "rights" are. Collection agencies typically can not call you repeatedly, be harassing, or call outside of "normal" hours.

I would also, starting immediately, stop talking to any and all collection agencies, and whatever you do, do not pay these people with your own money. Once they get a dime from you, they will chase you to the ends of the earth. If anyone should be talking to them it is your husband. My parents (who live in WI) were the co-signers on someone's loan, and now that person is failing to pay their loans. My parents are now getting calls. Their lawyer advised them to NOT pay anything and to NOT talk to the lenders.

If there is no chance of your family paying these loans off, you should consider one form of bankruptcy or another. There are certain kinds where you "reorganize" your debts and pay back a portion, and there are others where all your debts are simply discharged and you start with a clean slate. Depending upon how your husband's business is set up, the business itself *might* be able to file bankruptcy.

I know someone in WI who filed what was called "injured spouse" to protect her own wages from being garnished for child support that her husband owed. I don't know if this can be done for other types of debts.

You, or really, your husband, need to contact an attorney anyway. What your husband did (saying he was single when he was not) might be loan fraud, and you could have a serious legal mess on your hands. Good luck to you.

There are places that offer free legal help for people that cannot afford it. Check into that or ask around for any lawyers that do pro bono work.
Hopefully, you can avoid bankruptcy, but if you have no other options, maybe you should check into that as well. Most lawyers will accept a payment plan.
I would be so mad at my husband! It sounds like he received his loans under false pretenses. If you can at least talk to a lawyer, you can find out what the laws are and what you can do. Collection agencies bully people, so don't listen to them.
Good luck! I hope everything works out for you!

You should definitely consult an attorney. Sounds like a bankruptcy attorney would be a good place to start. I am a BKY atty in MN and I know that most of us will give you some direction without charging you in the form of an initial consult. At the very least you'll be able to see what your options are. I don't live or practice in a community property state so I am not sure how collection laws apply, but it is my understanding that a non-signing spouse may be/will be on the hook for the debt of the signing spouse in a community property state. Again, an attorney in your state will be able to answers these simple, yet important questions and be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck.

Get a lawyer. Do so fast.

My sister got in a similar situation and in the end it didn't matter. Our state it didn't matter if she signed or not, if she knew or not. We also live in a marital property state. She was just as responsible as him for the debt. She had to pay it off because he wouldn't or couldn't (as if that matters to her). If she didn't it would have dragged her credit down even further than it already had. Eventually they could have gone on to get judgements and garnished her paychecks.

So get a lawyer and see what your options are in your state and do so quickly. That way you know if you have no choice and you can find out how to start paying this down before you have to claim bankruptcy!

well it seems to me....your name was not on any of the documents-you signed nothing right??your not responsible...tell hubby to buck up...thats to bad....shame on him...and from now on when these folks call-tell them your the babysitter...you know nothing.what your hubby did was completely illegal lying on legal contracts an documents-so not your issue....good luck...

Sorry to hear of your problems. I am currently in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and one of the things he teaches is how to handle creditors and debt collectors. You will most likely need a lawyer, but you will also need to know how to handle all theses phone calls and notices. It is great information and will give you the ability to handle the situation. There is a lot that people don't know about collections, that the creditors frequently overstep their legal bounds and it becomes harassment. There is a way to handle this and you can do it. You will be debt free again, just hang it there and make a plan.
Good luck,
J.

If you want to get out of it without have to pay, I would think you need to go to court and a lawyer would be helpful. Creditors and collection agencies aren't going to go away. They only get paid if the depts are paid which is why most aren't sympathetic. Most lawyers do a certain amount of free work or only get paid a percentage of your winnings. There are places that provide free legal advice. I would call 211 (united way) and see if they have the number for free legal advice/services.

Well, the laws are different from state to state, and you don't mention where you live. I work as a consumer law paralegal, and have alot of clients who face very similar situations as yours (you are not alone!). Without knowing where you live, I cannot give you any practial advice. However, you should know that in some states, both of your wages could be garnished, even though you were unaware of the debt, bank accounts in your name could be seized, and the collection agencies are not going to care WHO incurred the debt when they call (and yes, they will keep calling until this is resolved).

One option, pretty much no matter which state you live in, is filing a bankruptcy, and, depending on the circumstances, he can file without you (to a degree - it is hard to explain).

If you decide to hire a lawyer, use one that specializes in consumer law cases (there are not very many), and if you decide to file a bankruptcy, use a lawyer that has alot of experience with filing cases where only one spouse files. If you live in MN or WI, I can give you referrals to attorneys in either state (I work in both states) for either consumer law or bankruptcy.

Good luck!

I believe that you may need a lawyer. You will have to prove that you have had no knowledge when this was being done. However if you are still married it will be coming out of your income either way. Also if it was a business loan it should have been taken out in the business name. A question I should ask is where did the money go?

Legal aid is a place you can go to hire a lawyer based on your financial status though there is an income limit to who they will and won't help. They also won't help if they haven't been or didn't handle your divorce. Personally, I would suck it up and hire a lawyer that specializes in this sort of thing because in the long run, it will be cheaper because they will save you a lot of time, financial entanglements, and problems down the road (legal aid hires lawyers fresh out of law school, it's their way of working off student loans). I found out the hard way that my lawyer screwed me over and according to my state's laws (Iowa) there is nothing I can do about it now, the divorce is a done deal and I have to abide by it. (It's set so that I have to provide medical coverage on my kids even though he makes, literally, 10 times the amount I do, I live below the poverty level....my son lives with his dad now so I can't cover him on state coverage and yet, I'm still responsible and the state is now coming after me to cover his medical....I'm currently without a job and going to school full time). Stick to your guns hun, whatever your lawyer advises, do it! It will save you a lot of hassle and trouble down the road........and make sure you've got a good lawyer who will have your best interests in mind, that's what you are paying them for.