Did getting married ruin my credit?

[Lemmus]

...depends on which state you live in ...most have SoLs on debt collections that vary widely but most fall in the 4-5 year range, especially on medical debts ...the reason it matters is that it flips the leverage in your direction if the CA can no longer actively pursue collection ...if the debts are beyond the SoL then you can first ask for a GW removal, then offer a partial payment for deletion with some hope that they will accept ...some will, some won't but its well worth the effort ...if not, you can always counter with a PIF offer for deletion ...some will refuse any offer, take your PIF and leave the reports on the CRAs as PIF ...ke sera, sera ...its the nature of the business they are in 

...never acknowledge that you actually owe the debt or pay any amount on it without an agreement in writing before hand ...afaik that can reset the date in some cases ...use the sample letters you will find on these forums instead

...be aware that any dealing with a CA can trigger a search by them for other unpaid accounts ...its an ugly business 

...hth

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much- that's helpful. My state's SoL is 7 years, but the debts were obtained in a different state, and that state's SoL is 6 years. Which one would we go by?

And is there anything we should do now, with the debts not beyond the SoL?

[Anonymous]

Most of the time you go by your state of residence.

[Lemmus]

...be very careful with unexpired SoLs

...if the CAs find that he is now married with decent community property assets/income, it could trigger active collection efforts including  pursuing judgements

...that said, you can still pursue the prior listed steps, its just that the leverage remains with the CA until the SoL expires

...you want each negative removed or, barring that, reported as PIF, or else a written payment plan in place with a record of on-time payments ...those payments will affect your DTIR but will improve his scores vs unpaid negatives

...some CAs will work with you, some won't ...but you won't know until you try ...patience and persistence are your best assets ...hth

[Anonymous]

Yes very helpful, thanks. 

If the SoL and the CRTP are the same (7 years), and we are five years past the original deliquency date, then if we just "lay low" for the next two years, the debts won't even show up on the CR. Do I have that right? 

[Lemmus]

...yes ...its more like 7.5 years before you can expect them to auto disappear ...you can ask the CRAs for early removal if his records are otherwise clean but its entirely at their discretion.

...keep an eye on the dates the CAs report ...some will misreport them in order to extend the time 

...good luck whatever you choose to do ...and don't be too hard on your guy, eh