Screwed by Soon to be Ex Husband - NFCU

[djnikki1]

My Husband and I had a joint checking and savings account at NFCU. He wrote bad checks and over drew the account.  He did this on his old account and got that one closed.  He needed me to cosign in order for him to get an account,  his credit is that bad.  NFCU then proceed to close my children's savings account, which only I cosigned on, to pay the debts he accurred.  There was still a remaining balance and I didn't have the funds to pay for it as he had already moved his payheck else where and then he took his name off of the account. NFCU then closed the account.  Now I cannot get an account at NFCU until this debt is cleared.  And his debt is left just in my name. I have been fighting with NFCU but they won't remove the debt.  Are there any steps I can take?  I will pay the remaining balance but I don't want this affecting my credit which I am in the process of trying to rebuild.  Thanks!

[pizzadude]

Sorry to hear about this mess ~ if I were you I'd do what it takes to clear the debt with NFCU, if for no other reason than to get back in with them in the future.

I don't know exactly how your ex took himself off the account, but I would raise this as an issue during your divorce proceedings and ask for compensation.

If it is just a checking account then it might not get reported to the CRAs, and once you pay it off you should be ok.    I'd confirm this with Navy just to be certain.  

Good luck !  Let us know how it turns out !

[LIGHTNIN]

When I was divorced, all outstanding debts that occurred during the marriage, had to be settled in the divorce agreement.

I would suggest to, ask your attorney about this situation. 

[drkaje]

That really stinks.

Sorry I can't say something smart or useful.

[djnikki1]

He was able to remove himself by lying to NFCU and stated that I signed up for the account without his perrmission.  This is what I was told by the agent.  I have an email from him giving me permission to open the account and I also had a power of attorney. He was deployed so I had to handle evverything.  I cannot afford a lawyer as I have limited funds and taking care of 2 year old twins.  I am representing myself during the divorce hearing.  So I'll make a note of this debt when I have my next hearing.    It's just so frustrating!

[Chris123nTx]

The thing about divorce orders for paying off debts is that they are meaningless to the credit granting companies. They will come after whoever they think they can get the money from if they were joint accounts...not a lawyer, just lived it. She was ordered to.pay all kinds of debt she had racked up but never paid a dime. The divorce orders do not change the agreement that was made when the credit was granted. Could vary from state to.state i reckon. Hey to the OP, is he still active duty? Seems to me if he is, then you can go straight to the unit and let them know what is happening. They would not let him get away with it...at least i hope they wouldnt.

[FrugalRican]

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@djnikki1 wrote:

He was able to remove himself by lying to NFCU and stated that I signed up for the account without his perrmission.  This is what I was told by the agent. 

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When you open an account with NFCU, do they require a signature card or e-signature?

[casmith1980]

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@FrugalRican wrote:

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@djnikki1 wrote:

He was able to remove himself by lying to NFCU and stated that I signed up for the account without his perrmission.  This is what I was told by the agent. 

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When you open an account with NFCU, do they require a signature card or e-signature?

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I think they use e-signature (at least that's what comes to mind for my account).  good point though!

[kjm79]

OP, sorry to hear all of this is happening!  Sadly, it's a joint account and NFCU does have a right to hold you liable for his mistakes.  You had a Power of Attorney when opening the account and if it was just a General Power of Attorney that granted you a whole lot of power.  You might need to go into a branch and show them the POA and email, maybe they'd be willing to work with you in at least holding him responsible for some of the debt, but even if they did, do you think that he would really pay?  This might be one you just have to pay to save the relationship with NFCU, and then fight it out in court to get the money back during the divorce proceedings.  This is a whole lot of legal mess to do by yourself.  As a military spouse you get certain perks too, look into it.  Check out http://www.militaryonesource.mil/MOS/f?p=MOS:HOME:0::::.  to see what resources might be available to you.

Whether it's an e-sig or signature card, with the Power of Attorney she could've opened the account even without his permission and he'd still be liable for it depending on how broad the POA was.  Most military members sign a POA that give their spouse free reign to do anything and everything while they are gone.  Buy and sell properties even.  Scary stuff.  Whenever my DH is deployed I have a General POA that says I can do pretty much anything in his name just as if it were him signing on the dotted line. 

As another poster said, what the court decides to do in a divorce doens't change the legal effects of agreements made with creditors.  Creditors still have to be satisfied per the agreement.  Then you have to go back to court and file contempt proceedings for violations of court orders and it really is a nightmare.  Fix what you can with NFCU while you still can.

[webhopper]

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@djnikki1 wrote:

He was able to remove himself by lying to NFCU and stated that I signed up for the account without his perrmission.  This is what I was told by the agent.  I have an email from him giving me permission to open the account and I also had a power of attorney. He was deployed so I had to handle evverything.  I cannot afford a lawyer as I have limited funds and taking care of 2 year old twins.  I am representing myself during the divorce hearing.  So I'll make a note of this debt when I have my next hearing.    It's just so frustrating!

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If he's still active duty, I would contact the military and pass the information along to his commanding officer...  he can jeopardize his security clearance by doing this.