Which Is The Best Way To Proceed?

[Anonymous]

My STB-ex never removed two credit cards from joint status, and after 2 years of 0 balance, he has run them both to their max ($15K and $5K), then didn't make any payments - all in the last six months.

I have spoken to the CC company, and to even remove myself from joint status, he would have to qualify for the total amount of the debt on his own. Due to circumstances in his own financial life, he does not qualify.

He is in the process of filing for bankruptcy for himself (which will absolve him of these two credit cards).

My income is currently $20k/yr. It will jump a little to $30K (pre-tax) over the coming months as I transition to steady self-employment. But, with three children, I have no way of paying the minimum payments due on these two cards, which is roughly $400/mo - and his recent activity has caused the interest rates to jump to the 18-19% range.

I need to decide the best way to proceed for myself. If I continue to let them go, they will eventually default and I may be able to offer a settlement amount. NFCU did not seem at all interested in working with me on very small payments to own up to the debt - and I really don't know if I'm interested in paying these off for what could almost be the rest of my life, at my budget allowance and income. If I let them default,  it could be two years before anyone is willing to accept a settlement. And then, it will be another 7 years of the settlement showing on my credit report. My other option is to file for bankruptcy myself. I see people on here pretty well recovered from bankruptcy within 2yrs of filing.

I'm looking for advice on how to recover my credit. Not an "easy way out" because there is none.. but the best, smartest way to come out from under this.

[jandj80]

You say soon to be ex... is your divorce final/or were you married? If you are, file for these debts to be paid by him in the divorce. If not, you could likely sue him for the debts if you can prove that he ran them up. If you have credit reports that prove a zero balance periodically over the last couple of years, and you can get copies of reciepts that show his signature, a judge would likely order him liable for the debt. I think you would be able to get them removed from your report. My parents did something like this when they got divorced. I know my mom got everything that was my dad's responsibilty off of her report by providing court documents to the CRA's. That might depend on the state though. 

[Anonymous]

Please, I have already explored other options and I know, due to circumstances, I will be held equally liable for the debt. Other post has already established this.

I have no interest in suing him privately in civil court.

If he could pay the debts he would, he didn't mean to drag me into this.

I am not interested in what I can do to him to try to make him pay it/me back.

My question is, of the two options available to me, which is the best way to proceed:

I just need to know if I should let the debts sour and rot my credit report for 7-8yrs, or if I should file for bankruptcy and rot my credit report in a different way. Which decision can I likely recover from in the quickest way?

[bahbahd]

I think the person above is trying to convey that with legal proof the debt is not yours, you can get the debts removed from each CRA. Right now it is listing because it is a joint account. (You are 100% positive it is a joint account and you are not just listed as an AU. If just an AU, then dispute as "not mine.") If you can get proof that these debts were racked up post-divorce where the cards should have been converted, canceled, etc. the CRAs can be forced to remove. Also, if you do have divorce papers, just send these to the OC and CRAs. Start a paper trail and make some noise.  I highly doubt bankruptcy is a better course of action than attempting to prove that you are not apart of or responsible for these debts.