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Rich Engelhardt
11-12-2014, 3:59 PM
I have a couple of questions I can't find an answer to.

First one - -
John is divorced. John has rotten credit. His credit score is so low it's in the negatives...(an exaggeration but not by much ;) ). John owes close to a quarter million dollars in debts and he hasn't made any attempt to pay them. John works part time.

John went into debt long before he met Sally.

Sally is divorced. Sally has pretty decent credit. Sally has a steady job she's had for 15 to 20 years.

John and Sally are now planning to get married.
What happens to Sally's credit?
Will she assume that huge debt if they get married?

Sean Troy
11-12-2014, 4:49 PM
They each have there own credit scores. If she get's her name on a loan with him and they fall behind, her score would be affected. She should keep her name off of anything with his name on it and she would be fine as long as she pays her bills on time.

Chuck Wintle
11-12-2014, 5:10 PM
I have a couple of questions I can't find an answer to.

First one - -
John is divorced. John has rotten credit. His credit score is so low it's in the negatives...(an exaggeration but not by much ;) ). John owes close to a quarter million dollars in debts and he hasn't made any attempt to pay them. John works part time.

John went into debt long before he met Sally.

Sally is divorced. Sally has pretty decent credit. Sally has a steady job she's had for 15 to 20 years.

John and Sally are now planning to get married.
What happens to Sally's credit?
Will she assume that huge debt if they get married?
I am no expert on human relations but when they are married money, credit and debt will become an issue and will undermine the marriage. Money is the big stumbling block for a lot of relationships and, perhaps this woman should reconsider marriage to this man.

Greg R Bradley
11-12-2014, 5:11 PM
There are enough unknowns in this scenario that you can't make any assumptions other than Sally should run away.

First the variations in the state of residence for Sally and John and the state's laws that apply, or can apply, to each of John's debts should be enough to scare any sane person away. Have they always lived in the current state?

It isn't really John's credit scores that will be the HUGE potential problem but WHO he owes and what they can do to collect after they are married. Has SOL stopped on any of John's debts? The minefield is endless.

Actually, in some states, they wouldn't even dare to live together either. Very scary stuff in some states, with some debts.

Mike Henderson
11-12-2014, 6:24 PM
There are enough unknowns in this scenario that you can't make any assumptions other than Sally should run away.

LOL, absolutely true. Such a marriage would be a disaster.

Mike

Mark Bolton
11-12-2014, 6:30 PM
Sally must really be in love with John.. zoikes..

Bruce Page
11-12-2014, 6:37 PM
Run Sally, run like the wind!

glenn bradley
11-12-2014, 8:47 PM
Rich, in this scenario I hope that you are John and not Sally. If you are Sally . . . RUN!!!!

Rich Engelhardt
11-13-2014, 6:09 AM
LOL! I'm too old and fat to run - plus - I don't think I'd look all that good in a wedding dress :D.


Has SOL stopped on any of John's debts? The minefield is endless.
Yes - and no - and God only knows since I don't have access to John's personal credit history (or Sally's either) - nor do I want to get that involved.
Part of the debt is student loans, which will never "go away". They just keep piling up more and more interest.

On the relationship part - I agree, 33 years of marriage has taught me that money issues, along with not straying of course, can rip a couple apart if they aren't addressed properly.
I'm not saying it's impossible for two love birds to survive a sea of financial torment - but - it takes a couple of real strong swimmers for that.
@ this point, I believe John and Sally are too starry eyed to want to listen to anything on that front.

John Pratt
11-13-2014, 9:10 AM
See Sally. See Sally run. See Sally run to see how Dick and Jane manage their finances. See Sally come to her senses and rethink her marriage to John.

Michael Weber
11-13-2014, 10:29 PM
At least have Sally talk to a lawyer to find out the truth about this and if it's possible to marry while never being liable for any of John's debts. And I agree with a lot of the others that someone who doesn't at least make an effort to pay off debts isn't someone I would want to associate with much less marry. A disaster about to happen for Sally when the starry eyed parts gone.

Ken Fitzgerald
11-13-2014, 10:50 PM
I agree with Michael. Have Sally talk with a lawyer.

In 1968 I married a young divorcee. 2 years later I reenlisted, got a handsome variable reenlistment bonus, paid cash ($100 bills) for a new Pontiac and of course both our names were on the title. A few weeks later a finance company sent us a notice they planned on taking the car as partial payment on an unpaid loan from her first marriage. After talking with a US Navy lawyer, I met with a loan company official and offered to pay 1/2 of the unpaid balance in return for her name to be removed from the loan or I would title the car solely in my name. They took the offer.

Sally needs to get John's complete financial history and some legal advice!

Dan Hintz
11-14-2014, 6:58 AM
Both Sally's and John's credit are unaffected in the immediate sense. However, in any state I'm aware of, Sally immediately assumes responsibility for any debt John has... should they get divorced, it will be up to a good lawyer to get Sally out of that responsibility (and documentation of it being John's debt before the marriage had better be crystal clear). If John makes all payments, Sally will not be affected... if John fails to make payments, eventually collections will get involved and Sally can have her credit affected.

There's no potential win in this situation, only status quo, and there's definitely a potential downside.

Bill McNiel
11-14-2014, 1:22 PM
Either Sally is nuts or really unattractive or John has superior skills in areas other than resource management.

Jim Rimmer
11-14-2014, 1:37 PM
All of the comments about the current debt and concerns are valid. But marrying a guy with that kind of history???? What makes Sally think he is going to manage money and debts any better in the future. This has "doomed to failure" all over it.