buy down offer on a credit card? how?

[rattlsnak]

Long story short, but my ex is not paying on the credit card that she is supposed to be paying on per the divorce decree. She has been late 8 times in the last 12 months and it's *****ing up my credit I would assume. She has no money and cannot get approved to get it out of joint status. I'm ready to bite the bullet and just pay it off but not sure how to go about doing that or what percentage is normally accepted. The balance is @$10K. I believe they divvy out a 1099 for the unpaid balance and I will try to get that all in her name as I have the paperwork that says she is 100% responsible for that card now.

Anyone had to do this process before?

[asphaltgambler]

My first response would be to have your attorney contact her attorney in writing with that evidence. There is a reason there is a 'contract' / divorce decree in place. If she is not abiding by it, she is violating the terms of specific performance.

You'd be surprised when threatened / then exorcising wage and property garnishments how quickly the defendants come 'round.

[rattlsnak]

All that has been done already. She simply does not have the means to pay it. Really nothing else to do at this point.

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

My first response would be to have your attorney contact her attorney in writing with that evidence. There is a reason there is a 'contract' / divorce decree in place. If she is not abiding by it, she is violating the terms of specific performance.

You'd be surprised when threatened / then exorcising wage and property garnishments how quickly the defendants come 'round.

I say have the attorney send letter to CC company and DEMAND your name be taken off the account....

[masraum]

Years ago, we were in a lot of debt. Someone mentioned that sort of thing, so we called one of the credit places to ask about it. We ended up not doing it, and paying everything off.

We were told that what you need to do is stop paying for a while. Eventually, the credit card company will work with you to get something instead of nothing. I suspect how much will depend upon how much you owe.

It sounds like your best bet is getting the card closed/cancelled and then paying it off.

[ckelly78z]

Just make Damn sure if you do cough up the $10K, that you also have substantial proof that the account is closed, and the cards cut up, otherwise, she will charge it up again.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

I say have the attorney send letter to CC company and DEMAND your name be taken off the account....

On what basis? Good luck with that.

I say start talking to the CC company and see if they will take $5,500 in exchange for your ex getting the 1099.

They know what can be done.

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

On what basis? Good luck with that.

I say start talking to the CC company and see if they will take $5,500 in exchange for your ex getting the 1099.

They know what can be done.

Basis: Divorce Decree

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

All that has been done already. She simply does not have the means to pay it. Really nothing else to do at this point.

If she truly does not have the means then pay it off and move on. (And make sure they close the account)

Long story but I had to do the same thing when I divorced.

Your peace of mind is worth a lot more than 10k.

[NoRush993/951]

I would think you could sue her in small claims court and subtract the judgement from whatever your divorce settlement payout is. She will be coming after everything possible, so any lien in your favor is a benefit to you.

[Steve Carlton]

I'm not certain, but I think the divorce decree is just between you and your ex, and does not require previous creditors to remove an original applicant to the account. If the account has gone bad, they should be willing to settle for half the current balance, plus or minus. Doing so usually means you'll have "Settled Account for less than full balance" on your credit report, which sucks. Sometimes lenders will overlook something like that in lieu of the rest of your credit, since you have a legitimate explanation, including documentation.

You could try talking with a manager at the credit card company. Maybe he/she will let you settle the account with the derogatory history deleted from your credit file. Seems like kind of a long shot.

You'd probably have better luck making a deal like that with a collection agency, but it sounds like the account is still being held by the original creditor. Sometimes they'll make deals like that in exchange for getting paid, sometimes not.

I'm not aware of 1099s being issued for the waived portion of a settled account.

[ckelly78z]

Banks write these bad accounts off all the time to prevent a long, drawn out, legal battle. I am almost certain that they would accept 50 cents on the dollar as a payoff, with the assurance that 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. As I said earlier though, have a gaurentee that the account no longer exists, and that the cards are cut up.

[stomachmonkey]

Don't know how your relationship with the ex is but if it's toxic you may want to put a lock on your credit.

One of my former step mothers was so vindictive she spent a couple of years opening lines of credit in my fathers name and going on a spending spree.

She died unexpectedly from pneumonia complications.

Couple of years later the creditors found my father.

She'd racked up a $250,000 bill that he ended up on the hook for.

[berettafan]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

Basis: Divorce Decree

ummm....no.

[E Sully]

My wife had the same situation with her ex husband. I called the credit card company, told them she would pay 50%. They accepted the 5,000 and closed the account, sent a 1099 for the other 5,000.
Legally both parties are on the hook till it is paid off. The credit card company has no interest in the divorce agreement.

[RANDY P]

THey'll settle for a lot less. Stop paying, you'll likely get 30% on the dollar or less. No one pays after default.

Credit card companies know that 98% of the time when they press the debtor just files BK... There's a reason the rate is so high and that's because there is little screening and little protection for the Creditor in the event of default.

Not like your credit is going to get any worse at this point...wait it out, get a deal.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by RANDY P

THey'll settle for a lot less. Stop paying, you'll likely get 30% on the dollar or less. No one pays after default.

Credit card companies know that 98% of the time when they press the debtor just files BK... There's a reason the rate is so high and that's because there is little screening and little protection for the Creditor in the event of default.

Not like your credit is going to get any worse at this point...wait it out, get a deal.

But wont this ruin his credit rating? He's assuming his credit rating is ruined. Maybe it isn't yet.

Why not find out for sure before doing anything.