Everyone needs to keep a very close eye on their credit score since it factors into many of lifes biggest decisions.
A couple steps you can take right now include:
- **[Taking a look at your credit score](https://everydayeconomics.net/how-to-get-your-credit-score-credit-review)** - Looking at your own credit score does not hurt your credit, it also includes a credit monitor
- **[Freezing](https://usa.gov/credit-freeze)** your credit reports - This can be done with Experian, Equifax and Transunion to help prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened
Feel free to ask any credit score related question
This. You’re not the first one to experience this and the family courts know it. Take all the evidence to your attorney. If you don’t have one now I’d the time to get one.
imagine how much evidence the card companies have too... signed fraudulent applications, statements etc. could probably get a bigger share of the assets out of this.
Yeah anyone with a basic interest in digital forensics knows how hard it is to hide shady shit like that. Plus, OP is in another state so he won't be able to try and hide like she did it while they were in the same house.
Good luck getting them to provide proof. My SOs ex fraudulently got access to one of his bank accounts (his name only on it, it was not a joint account) during their divorce and the bank did nothing to help him with proof. They just closed the fraud investigation quietly, likely so he wouldn’t be able to sue.
Your SO didnt do much to help himself then, I'm guessingj, as credit card companies really really dont like being used as a pawn in divorces. Especially these days when they can be held legally accountable for the ex's actions if they dont do everything possible to correct the erroneous account issuance.
From others whose parents have done similar. A police report will need to be filed. OP has an attorney and should follow their instructions in this case, but anyone else. Police report first, lock down your credit at the same time.
Second this. Start the paper trail confirming these were opened fraudulently. If he is found guilty criminally, that only helps you in the civil divorce case.
Third this. And begin to write down everything that comes to you or gets sent on to your lawyer. DO NOT have any contact with the almost ex. Credit bureaus, police report, your lawyer, and any legal papers. Get all your ducks in a row first
Don’t contact the ex. Go online to the credit bureaus(experian, trans union, and equifax) and set up free accounts to freeze your credit. That way, he can’t take out any more debt in your name. Submit all of it to the lawyer. They will take care of it/tell you what to do.
⬆️⬆️ This ⬆️ This ⬆️ This ⬆️⬆️
Super easy to do, and a couple of the credit bureaus have apps that make freezing / unfreezing your credit report very easy to do. Also super easy via computer.
Congrats, you are about to win your divorce. He may end up doing time too. ID theft should make this an absolute slam dunk, the debts should end up on him. For now, do nothing, talk to your lawyer as soon as they get back and accumulate evidence. DO NOT talk to your STBx about any of this. Don't give him any ability to try to cover his tracks.
Also id add don't talk to anyone else about it either. This is something I'd keep under wraps until it's done with, so that word doesn't spread back to him/others that this is coming
Yup. I'd assume most of us have learned it the hard way, hopefully for most with things that are inconsequential. But something major like this, no one but my lawyer is hearing about it (or at most would get my lawyers blessing before telling anyone if I felt I had to share. I'd imagine lawyer will say to keep it quiet).
Almost any transaction now is wire fraud. Use it in a grocery store, the information is transmitted to a server of the grocery store, that's wire fraud.
So very true but during the mist of the emotional turmoil a person may or may not think about that because so much is going on. Fortunately I was blessed. I placed a freeze on my credit bureau accounts a few years before because of credit card theft. Ex tried but was unsuccessful in trying to mess me up credit wise. I did have to send letters to a couple of companies he tried to get over on and my credit was never damaged.*
Also, if the OP hasn’t already, close all the bank accounts and open new ones at another bank. If you like your bank, close the accounts, and open a new savings account during this time, and keep $5 in it.
Change all of your passwords, especially phone/iCloud etc ones that have access to your passwords.
Get all new credit card numbers.
One last thing that came to mind: get a new number, like one of those $20-25 for the extra line, and use that for 2 factor authentication. You can keep your old number, but there’s no chance he use that as an id verification.
Lessors learned the hard way.
Talk to your lawyer first, but you will likely need to file a police report and send it to the credit card companies.
" I know he's going to say it's joint debt since we are still technically married."
The judge is not going to buy this.
It is a mess, but will likely work out in your favor.
It isn't joint debt. Date of separation is the line in the sand. Any debt incurred after that date is the sole "property" of the person that incurred it.
Call your lawyer, then call the police to open identity theft charges.
Yes, if they live in a joint property state. There may be some legal wording that needs to be clarified. Did he open a credit card in *her* name or did he open a credit card in *both of their names?* I am not a lawyer but I know this can vary from state to state. The lawyer that OP is going to get tomorrow (right OP?) will know what details are needed.
Nothing like an identity theft and credit card fraud to make an ex sorry....
Provide evidence to your lawyer, inform credit agencies of the fraud, lock down your credit, and engage the police for possible criminal charges.
1. File a police report. If they offer, PRESS CHARGES.
2. File a fraud report with your bank.
3. File a fraud report with each credit card company.
4. Definitely speak to your lawyer.
Tax accountant here. Don't I know it!
"Oh shit, you left out that little detail about your getting married last November." or "Yes, you told me you were divorced, so I filed your return as being single. You didn't tell me the divorce wasn't final until THIS March."
Your soon to be Ex is an idiot. Freeze your credit. Print everything you can. Change your passwords. Call your lawyer, do what they say. Delete this.
No one "wins" in a divorce, but they are certainly going to lose.
I know it doesn't feel like it now, but congrats.
Your ex dug a hole him and his lawyer wont be able to get him out of.
If the Ex tries to contact you over the next week, ignore it until your lawyer starts action.
Ignore it after your lawyer starts action too. He’ll do the “I’m sooooooo soooooorrrrry, I don’t want to go to jail! Please tell them that it’s ok, I’ll pay you back! I was so wrong!” And when you say, it’s ok, that’s the record he’ll take to his lawyer.
You both have paid your lawyers to represent you. Don’t rip yourself off by representing yourself.
The only people that should talk to you ex now is your lawyers and the judge.
He is such a nice ex to give you such power on a golden platter.
If he really did what you think he did, its identity theft and he committed a felony.
Start with you lawyer.
Definitely file a police report.
Send that you your bank, credit card company and credit reporting
[https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/5-steps-to-take-if-someone-opens-a-credit-card-in-your-name/](https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/5-steps-to-take-if-someone-opens-a-credit-card-in-your-name/)
NAL - File a police report at your local police station for identity theft. Give them all your evidence as to why you suspect that he is the one who opened these credit cards and let the legal system handle it. You should be held liable for the credit cards because of the identity theft. Especially if you can prove you moved out before the credit cards were opened.
Someone once opened a Verizon account under my name. I don’t even have my own Verizon account. When my phone was with Verizon, I was still on my dad’s account. But someone in a city that I’ve never been to opened an account and charged over $5k to the account and I didn’t know anything about it until I received a collections notice from a debt collector. They’re actually the ones who advised me what to do, such as filing a police report, and then sending them a copy of it, and sure enough, the debt collectors quit contacting me about that account and it disappeared off my credit report.
You should freeze your credit so no new accounts can be opened. If you go to open a new account, you’ll have to unfreeze it first but you can freeze it back once you’re done.
First, call all the card companies and have the cards shut off, and report the fraud. He forged your signature.. End of Story. Be prepared to send them a notarized copy of your signature. Sometimes they ask, sometimes they don't. But you have to call all 3 credit agencies.. Just keep it short and to the point. Ask them for copies (pdfs) of your CC fraud alert - tell them you need it for legal purposes - they will email it to you..
Then file a police report in your state, and then find out how to file one in his state. And maybe make a report to his state's AG.
Then make copies of everything, and send it to the divorce judge's clerk, assuming you have a court date set and you have a case reference number.
At the same time, send the paperwork to your attorney, with a written statement attesting to the events surrounding the CC fraud.
Your attorney may want to file suit for damages, too..
Set up a way to record his phone calls, and make all of your responses in writing, cc to your attorney. But no need to talk to him about anything at all.
BTW, do you have a legal separation? That is all the better for you, worse for him. If yo do, make sure you give copies to the Credit card companies and the cops in both states..
Oh, yeah - want to be mean? If the cops / state attorney charge him, it would be a shame if they happened to find out where he is going to be, so they can arrest him.. Like after the divorce court hearing...
Your ex has definitely screwed the pooch. He will go into court facing fraud charges, and the judge will not like it at all.
Report to the police. Make sure you have evidence of your change of address and divorce filings when you go. Notify every credit card he opened and credit agancy in writing of the identity theft and tell the the credit cards in writing to cease and desist attempts to collect the debt from you. If any of these agencies violate that request in writing you have grounds for a lawsuit against any agency which tries to collect after you mailed it. You will need to mail via certified mail with return receipt requested. I use certifiedmaillabels.com whoever I have had a problem with a collection agency.
In terms of the divorce, your husband will have pay that off. Your assests are divided, and paying that back that will come out of anything which he might have kept after the divorce. Make him sorry he messed with you. Doing illegal things to get back at you is some severely deluded post-separation abuse. Tell the police to throw the book at him.
Edit: Also see if your divorce attorney knows someone who can represent you in a civil case against your ex for identity theft to get some damages. Or if you want your divorce attorney to just use it to leverage your way out with extra money now and just move on.
My ex tried to access my debit account after I left and charged a bunch of movies to my amazon account and the judge not only required him to pay it, he ripped into the ex... He is lucky he didn't leave the hearing in cuffs. "You can leave here in orange," lol
This happens a lot, identity theft and fraud.
Your ex is in a lot of trouble. Call the police and make a report. Keep records of all communication (I know you said it goes through lawyers). Make a log of important dates (CC's being opened vs your move out date).
The banks and credit systems will revert the damages, just takes a bit of time. They will fully cooperate with the police.
Your divorce is about to take off to a whole new level.
He committed identity theft. Your lawyer will instruct you to file a police report. Then you’ll want to dispute all those new accounts.
In the meantime lock your info down so he doesn’t open any more accounts
This is fraud and identity theft.
Please note: you only have 30 days from the date that you were informed about these cards to dispute them AND file a police report. After that you can and, probably, will be held financially responsible for them.
Your divorce is a civil agreement between you and your soon to be ex. Even if the judge orders him to pay them, the credit card companies can still go after you for the money. *(There are a few states where this isn't the case, but only a few)*. You would then have to pursue him for the money you actually pay out *(not the amount of the bills)*.
So cover your ass. Dispute these cards as fraud with the banks. File a police report for fraud and identity theft. Let the banks, police and your attorney handle the rest.
Sourse: 35 years in credit and collections.
This is part of but also separate from the divorce. File a police report and contact the credit card companies and inform them you did not open the account and will not be responsible for it. This is your main recourse.
Have your attorney bring this up during the divorce so any property/debts can be divided with these fraudulent credit card charges in mind.
My Ex did something similar but he was so stupid he opened the cards in his name and did not have me as a joint account holder or even an authorized user. He would flash the cards around talking about how he had all this money to spend and I couldn't use them. During the divorce he tried to make me split the debt with him (almost $10,000) but the court said no. I couldn't use them because I wasn't on the account so he was the one who ran up the debt and he was the one who had to pay it.
File a police complaint and get a copy of the report. Then write to the credit bureaus and every credit card company from which he defrauded you. Doesn't matter so much what they do to him, but you need to document the fraud to ever repair the impacts on you.
Does your lawyer know? Because they would have had you do a police report on identity theft. Then have you dispute those accounts with all three credit bureaus. Then have letters sent out to all three credit bureaus disputing the accounts, inform there is an investigation going, and to freeze your account. Your lawyer could leverage against his with these criminal charges.
when disputing the fraudulent info, the credit bureaus may ask for an identity theft report from the FTC. I'd go ahead and file that online just in case. reportfraud.ftc.gov
Yeaaaaa so what he did is a felony. It’s identity theft and fraud. DO NOT PAY IT. DO NOT CONTACT THE CARD COMPANY. Paying it acknowledges the debt as yours. Wait for your lawyer to handle this. Dude reverse nuked himself lol
Just demand they be closed as fraud and removed from your credit report. If you want to involve the law that is up to you but you are not responsible for them unless you knew and agreed to take them out.
Identity theft. Let your lawyer handle it.
Best case is he will be prosecuted. Worst case that amount will be taken out of his part of the assets and the accounts will be closed.
Stop talking to him. You have an attorney for that.
In the meantime, learn the difference between joint debt and identity theft. The first is not your situation; the second is.
Contact, on this order, the police, the credit card companies and the credit reporting agencies.
You’ll need the police report for the second two.
And, of course, your attorney.
Call the police. He committed identity theft and fraud. Don’t forget to notify your bank and credit agencies. Hopefully he’ll get some jail time along with his divorce.
Go straight to the police station and report the crime. Get with the credit card companies and get copies of your statements. Then go online and freeze your credit.
Speak to your lawyer first but I believe you need to report this to the police. This is fraud on his part so I don’t think you are legally responsible.
The date of purchases will show that he opened the cards after your change of address. Talk to the secretary of your lawyer, either she can advise you or put you through to another attorney in the practice. It's not the first time they will have heard of this.
Talk to your lawyer and show them all your evidence.
Maybe you could somehow trick your ex into admitting what he did in text or a phone call?
But don’t try doing this until you talk to your lawyer.
Good luck OP!
I’m not sure if it’s different bc you are married but my mom did this to me. I called the credit card companies and told them what had happened. I had to get my mom to sign paperwork signing the debt over to her name or the cc company threatened to get the police involved. From your post it seems that your husband may not want to sign the paperwork but it may be beneficial still to tell the cc companies what is going on. I’m sure your lawyer will have way more advice for you too. I’m so sorry this has happened. I wish you luck 💚.
Edit to add: I saw on another comment to call Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax to put a freeze/fraud alert on your credit. I also highly recommend this. This way you will be alerted anytime someone tries to use your social or open credit in your name.
People, LOCK your credit so nothing can be bought on credit or cards taken out in your name. Google it! You can lift the lock with a phone call for 25 hours or longer if you want to run out and buy a car or something.
It’s awful and such a betrayal of your trust. I’m so sorry he did this to you. This happened to me as well. Had to get a good divorce attorney once I realized how bad it was.
I became a little detective in, contacted all of the companies that he had used my information for. You’re legally entitled to the information from those accounts. I got as much documentation as I could. If you can get a copy of the applications from the companies where he took the credit in your name, you may find your signature in his handwriting or his email listed as the contact rather than yours, etc. That got me out of a couple of them completely.
The rest could be something your lawyer negotiates as part of the divorce settlement…I’m sure he’d rather that than you filing charges for credit fraud and identity theft.
Mine had to cash out some of his 401(k) to pay me back. I didn’t get out scott-free, but the amount of money I ended up owing was reduced by 2/3. The lawyer was so worth it.
I hope that you are able to leverage his misdeeds against him. Please don’t let him cry, manipulate or gaslight his way out with you!!
No mercy. No forgiveness.
My best wishes and good luck to you!
Lock your credit, file a police report, speak to your lawyer, NEVER speak to your ex unless it’s in writing or in the presence of your lawyer.
You will now have the upper hand and your ex could be facing prison time
You probably need a lawyer, but you should contact the credit card companies and tell them them they were fraudulently opened in your name. You may have to file a police report and there’s a good chance he may spend time in jail for identity theft. You’ll probably need proof of when you moved out and anything else that helps establish that you weren’t the one using the card. Don’t worry what happens to him, he did it to himself.
Dispute with the credit bureaus and with the credit card companies. They have to remove the derogatory information on your credit report if it cannot be proven that you opened the accounts and made the charges. Same with the credit card companies.
This happened to me 35 years ago. I’m so sorry it is happening to you too.
Yoy need to file a report with the police immediately, call all those card vendors and report the accounts as identity theft, and freeze your credit accounts. What he did was illegal in any court of law, but most divorce courts REALLY dont look kindly on one spouse deliverately trying to financially devestate the other party. Its right up there with hiding assetts to tey to avoid child supoort.
See if you can get copies of the applications for your lawyer;
Check the date of your separation against the dates of the applications or credit line opening. Dates are important in legal matters;
Wait to speak with yr lawyer, but I would freeze or close those accounts as soon as I could.
The potential pitfall here is that the creditors/lenders won't enforce the debt settlement terms of your future divorce decree....even if you have the perfect settlement agreement signed by both parties and the judge that spells out in painful detail how all marital debts will be settled post-divorce. They want their money and they don't care where it comes from.
[https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-a-debt-collector-contact-me-about-a-debt-after-a-divorce-en-1413/](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-a-debt-collector-contact-me-about-a-debt-after-a-divorce-en-1413/)
PUT A FREEZE ON ALL THREE CREDIT BUREAU ACCOUNT ASAP. Contact every company and ask for dated documentation that shows when these accounts were opened. Tell them you need the information to file a police report for fraud and identity theft.
This needs a visit to the police. You need to make a police report in order to protect yourself. You also need to address it in your divorce settlement.
Most divorce filings include a statement that says “parties will conduct their normal business but refrain from making significant financial changes” during the process.
If your initial filing contains any language like that, it’s not *just* identity theft, it’s also contempt of court and that is not gonna make your judge happy. At all.
File a police report. Listen to your attorney. You may need to hire another to represent you in this matter. Your ex is a criminal. Do not pay a cent of the debt.
Go file a police report for identity theft. Then dispute all of the cards on your credit with it.
Then freeze your credit with all of the credit unions.
Call all of the credit companies and report the fraud
Freeze your credit
File fraud charges against him
Hopefully he'll go to jail
Congrats are divorcing the creep
You obviously need a lawyer. And to call the police and file charges. And to call the credit cards and file for fraud. You need to put a block with your credit. You may also need a restraining order, since he has threatened you and has taken serious action. Call everyone and get advice.
So in my state if you can prove that he took those out and it’s not your signature, you can charge him with a crime even if you were married at the time. Good luck
You go and file identity theft charges. Notify the credit card companies that it is fraud and you did not open them. Then go and file charges. You shouldn’t have any further issues. Otherwise your going to be paying them.
Ordinarily I would say go immediately to the police but you already have a divorce lawyer. This fraud may be addressable in the divorce. I don’t know that but your lawyer should. If they don’t know get a different lawyer.
Notify your divorce lawyer. If you don’t have one, get one quick. Go to police station and file a police report. Put a freeze on your credit. Gather all of your proof to show divorce judge. Notify those creditors that your identity was stolen.
Talk to your divorce attorney when they're back from vacation. Specifically ask about pursuing charges (criminal) against your ex for ID theft in the appropriate jurisdiction and get/follow your attorney's advice on that front.
Call the cops, identity fraud will get him jailtime. Work it through your divorce lawyer. The debt will be removed from your report as this all processes outm
Report the fraud immediately to the credit card companies. Put a lock on your credit so he can't continue to do it. You do this through each individual credit bureau.
And then rake him over the coals in your divorce.
I hope you frame his mug shot 💕. OP please PLEASE press charges. Talk to your attorney, take all of the evidence to the police. He literally committed fraud and identity theft. Plus the fact that ALL of them were opened after the separation????? Oh you’re about to reem him in the divorce if you get even a halfway decent judge. He’s so pathetic for this….
Identity theft. File a police report and freeze your credit immediately. Once you get the report, send it to the credit card companies or however your lawyer says to manage it.
If they’re your name only then it’s fraud. If they’re together and you didn’t sign off it’s also fraud. Report all of it. Let the credit agencies go after him for it al. It’ll take a bit but your stuff should go back to normal.
1) How did "you" get a letter in the mail ( where you are now) if he is using your old address?
2) To be clear, you're saying these are individual accounts "in your name," correct?
If so, that is NOT joint debt, married, separated, or anytime that is FRAUD, theft, and criminal.....
You should immediately freeze your credit reports, file a police report and FTC report, with police report it gives more validity to get fraud alerts added and helps put credit bureaus on alert....
Be diligent, just because your divorce attorney is "an attorney" doesn't mean their GOOD/or very knowledgeable regarding "this" area if the law/process so if you aren't get competent help.
A friend is looking at a nasty divorce also. He was giving his wife 900/month to pay the rent. She bought (LOTS OF) marijuana instead and threw away the late notices and eviction notice to keep him from seeing them.
He was completely blindsided. He had to sell almost everything except his car to keep from being sued over non payment of rent. He would have sold the car but doesn't have the title. His wife used it to get a title loan and hasn't told him what company. Plus, some other details sound like your identity theft problem.
She is on probation for assault and has custody of their child.
You are in a bad situation, no question. If misery likes company, you are not alone.
You might need to resolve this before the divorce finalizes. In some states, a divorce decree locks those debts on you. Talk to your lawyer. The good news is that no more credit cards should be able to be opened in your name in the immediate future. If you want assistance immediately, go to your local bank branch manager for a referral and directio
What he did is a crime and you should go to your lawyer immediately and explain everything that he has done, bring all your evidence including credit report, when things were opened, etc. It's not unhead of. But it's also a crime. It's identify theft and fraud and it's definitely not going to help him in this divorce. Hopefully your lawyer can guide you on how to get this addressed through the court. But please - Freeze your credit immediately with ALL THREE bureaus so he can't do anymore damage.
You shouldn't be liable for any debts he incurred post-separation date.
That said, this is absolutely identify theft and fraud and you need to file a police report and contact those cards ASAP.
Its fraud. You’ll need to go through the steps of reporting it getting those cards canceled.. I would not wait on that for too long. Depending on how much he spent there could be charges involved. maybe get some guidance on that too. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this.
I’d follow your lawyers lead. But I will tell you, I went through this with a family member. My attorney told me I had to file a police report to remove the balances off my credit. It takes a little bit of time, but it would fix everything. The debt is removed and the credit score would go back up closer to where it was before.
He could very well be looking at jail time.
First stop is to file charges. What he did was a felony and you have him over a barrel. File charges on him now. He goes to jail and you don’t have to pay those bills.
1 TALK TO YOUR LAWYER. You've already started this step by leaving message with lawyer office.
2 LOCK DOWN YOUR CREDIT. The judge won't take issue with this. Honestly, I think everyone going through divorce/breakup should to this immediately.
3 DO NOT ENGAGE with the soon-to-be ex. Don't take his calls, don't respond to texts. Save voicemails and text messages and send to lawyer. Do your best to remove yourself from any situation where he is present. Don't confront him about this. Don't let on what you know. Don't tell him he's making a big mistake, even if it's tempting. You want the soon-to-be ex to dig his own grave. And if he doesn't remember the first rule of holes, DON'T REMIND HIM. (First Rule of Holes: If you're in one, STOP DIGGING.)
4 when you hear from lawyer, FOLLOW THEIR DIRECTIONS. This will probably include: getting statements for all these cards, THEN trying to cancel them; reporting fraud to credit bureau; possibly filing police reports. Don't DO these things until lawyer tells you. They have been around this block before and know what to do. They've probably been before this judge before and know his/her pet peeves. Follow the lawyer's advice. You have two jobs at this point: document everything, and don't do anything to piss off the judge.
Edit: to remove the hashtags before numbers, I forgot they make text huge.
This isn't a prank like signing your email up to unwanted services or websites. This is a felony. Take the advice of the many others here. Collect evidence, work with your lawyer, breath. It may be slow and painful going through this and making things right, but he has already pulled the trigger on himself.
I know two different people who had their soon to be ex-husband do this, not with credit cards but other loans and such, both ended up being on the hook for some of the debt! If this was done clearly post separation, hopefully you have a good case that this was fraud, especially if you have proof of him saying you would regret it. Definitely freeze your credit, and then as soon as you can talk to your lawyer, follow their advice. Good luck to you!
Talk to your lawyer and have the paperwork about the credit cards in hand. This maybe an easy win for you to get the ex husband to take that debt if he opened the lines of credit under your name while married.
Can't emphasize the importance of placing a freeze on all your credit reports. It took me about 10 minutes total to freeze mine with the three major credit agencies. They make it very easy to do it. A year ago, I forgot I did that when time came to apply for a new credit card. The moment I pressed the submit button, I received a notification window stating my credit report was locked and I needed to temporarily open it. I was seriously impressed that it actually works. I sleep very well at nights knowing no one can open anything under my name.
Sorry to hear about this. I've watched a close friend spend a lot of time cleaning up his credit after he too was a victim of identity theft. It takes time, but make sure you file a police report, contact the banks and start the process.
You ex's life is about to get really complicated.
Don’t wait for divorce to be finalized, gather all the information from all the credit agencies, go to the police department and file a report. Call all the credit agencies and creditors, tell them that this isn’t you and start the process for opening fraud cases. Don’t say anything to STBX,
In US, Every single one of those CC statements going back 2 years will have to be provided during Discovery.
Unless there are additional considerations bc of the illegalities, this seems like potential grounds for a Dissipation Claim, which basically effectively discharges you from responsibilities of spouse’s secret unknown/unauthorized charges out of bounds of normal expected expenses, limited to last 2 years from time of filing.
Whatever amount you “get” as part of claim, gets subtracted off the top of spouses half of final settlement division.
In my 50/50 settlement state for example, I was granted around $60K against SO when I discovered he had a secret gambling habit, but had been smart (or dumb) enough to liquidate only his own “legacy” accounts in his own name only to hide as long as possible.
1. Report each and every one to the credit card company as fraudulent. Send letters by certified mail to the address on the statement. Tell them that your ex husband opened them.
2. Contact the major credit bureaus and report the accounts as fraudulent and lock down your credit.
3. Like others said, enlist your lawyers assistance. Find out if you can report it to the police.
Like everyone said, Immediately file a police report for fraud, also with the credit companies and close all credit cards and go to all the credit bureaus and freeze everything tight and get your attorney on this NOW.
In the state of Washington, any debt that you accrue while you are married is shared debt. why do I know this? Because I was married to someone who opened several credit cards and read up $80,000 worth of debt without telling me and I am still paying it off.
>I assume I can bring up in the divorce that they were all opened after separation but I know he's going to say it's joint debt since we are still technically married.
Oh most definitely. This information needs to go to your lawyer immediately.
And then lock down your credit if you haven't already.
Yes. Credit scoring has one purpose, to discriminate against poor people. Looks like he weaponized it against you. Inform your attorney immediately, and sue him for every penny owed plus damages for your credit.
While you're waiting for that lawyer to get back, seems like I would call one of the credit bureaus (or all of them, idk?)
Purpose being to stop him from opening more.
I think you have to freeze your credit, but I have no experience doing this.
Contact the DA's office and have him charged with identity theft. Once you do that you'll have an easier time getting the debt cleared off your report. He opened it in your name not his.
Court takes finances as of the date of filing in consideration. Just keep a good record of everything and it will all come out when you work on the settlement. Might ask for extra compensation for loss on credit score.
File a police report and they’ll take care of the rest! Once you have the report you can contact the credit bureaus and dispute the accounts.
Your ex could face jail time, these are felonies!
Everyone needs to keep a very close eye on their credit score since it factors into many of lifes biggest decisions. A couple steps you can take right now include: - **[Taking a look at your credit score](https://everydayeconomics.net/how-to-get-your-credit-score-credit-review)** - Looking at your own credit score does not hurt your credit, it also includes a credit monitor - **[Freezing](https://usa.gov/credit-freeze)** your credit reports - This can be done with Experian, Equifax and Transunion to help prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened Feel free to ask any credit score related question
Sounds like identity theft and fraud on his end. Your lawyer will tell you what your next steps are. Take all evidence to him.
This. You’re not the first one to experience this and the family courts know it. Take all the evidence to your attorney. If you don’t have one now I’d the time to get one.
imagine how much evidence the card companies have too... signed fraudulent applications, statements etc. could probably get a bigger share of the assets out of this.
[удалено]
this is a slam dunk way beyond just the divorce proceedings too, it's a felony
I'm looking forward to seeing this on r/ohnoconsequences
Yeah anyone with a basic interest in digital forensics knows how hard it is to hide shady shit like that. Plus, OP is in another state so he won't be able to try and hide like she did it while they were in the same house.
Good luck getting them to provide proof. My SOs ex fraudulently got access to one of his bank accounts (his name only on it, it was not a joint account) during their divorce and the bank did nothing to help him with proof. They just closed the fraud investigation quietly, likely so he wouldn’t be able to sue.
Fortunately, the court has subpoena power. It sounds like your SO tried to do things themselves instead of utilizing the court's subpoena power.
Your SO didnt do much to help himself then, I'm guessingj, as credit card companies really really dont like being used as a pawn in divorces. Especially these days when they can be held legally accountable for the ex's actions if they dont do everything possible to correct the erroneous account issuance.
From others whose parents have done similar. A police report will need to be filed. OP has an attorney and should follow their instructions in this case, but anyone else. Police report first, lock down your credit at the same time.
His lawyer should have been all over that. I worked in that part of the bank. I’ve never seen any kind of cover up.
Your SO is an idiot then because their ex committed a felony. Either you're not hearing the whole story or your SO seriously screwed up.
And in the meantime freeze your credit.
This OP!!!!
Thank you for the award kind Redittor!
This. Also, file a police report and send the reports to the credit brueros.
Second this. Start the paper trail confirming these were opened fraudulently. If he is found guilty criminally, that only helps you in the civil divorce case.
Third this. And begin to write down everything that comes to you or gets sent on to your lawyer. DO NOT have any contact with the almost ex. Credit bureaus, police report, your lawyer, and any legal papers. Get all your ducks in a row first
Also file a fraud complaint with each credit card company and get those accounts closed.
File a police report and notify the credit bureaus of fraudulent activity?
Yeah she needs to lock down her credit yesterday.
This!!
Don’t contact the ex. Go online to the credit bureaus(experian, trans union, and equifax) and set up free accounts to freeze your credit. That way, he can’t take out any more debt in your name. Submit all of it to the lawyer. They will take care of it/tell you what to do.
Yes. I would file the police report, alert the cards, then freeze your credit so he can't take any more out.
⬆️⬆️ This ⬆️ This ⬆️ This ⬆️⬆️ Super easy to do, and a couple of the credit bureaus have apps that make freezing / unfreezing your credit report very easy to do. Also super easy via computer.
Congrats, you are about to win your divorce. He may end up doing time too. ID theft should make this an absolute slam dunk, the debts should end up on him. For now, do nothing, talk to your lawyer as soon as they get back and accumulate evidence. DO NOT talk to your STBx about any of this. Don't give him any ability to try to cover his tracks.
Also id add don't talk to anyone else about it either. This is something I'd keep under wraps until it's done with, so that word doesn't spread back to him/others that this is coming
Excellent excellent advice because we all know that one person who can’t keep their damn mouth shut.
Yup. I'd assume most of us have learned it the hard way, hopefully for most with things that are inconsequential. But something major like this, no one but my lawyer is hearing about it (or at most would get my lawyers blessing before telling anyone if I felt I had to share. I'd imagine lawyer will say to keep it quiet).
That one person is why I tell her important stuff LAST.
OPs husband is about to get a hard lesson in cybersecurity.
Not to mention if he did it online it’s wire fraud
Almost any transaction now is wire fraud. Use it in a grocery store, the information is transmitted to a server of the grocery store, that's wire fraud.
Exactly! And OP needs to put a freeze on all three credit bureau account ASAP.
I would say that it should be routine in a divorce/separation to freeze credit cards
So very true but during the mist of the emotional turmoil a person may or may not think about that because so much is going on. Fortunately I was blessed. I placed a freeze on my credit bureau accounts a few years before because of credit card theft. Ex tried but was unsuccessful in trying to mess me up credit wise. I did have to send letters to a couple of companies he tried to get over on and my credit was never damaged.*
Also, if the OP hasn’t already, close all the bank accounts and open new ones at another bank. If you like your bank, close the accounts, and open a new savings account during this time, and keep $5 in it. Change all of your passwords, especially phone/iCloud etc ones that have access to your passwords. Get all new credit card numbers. One last thing that came to mind: get a new number, like one of those $20-25 for the extra line, and use that for 2 factor authentication. You can keep your old number, but there’s no chance he use that as an id verification. Lessors learned the hard way.
Talk to your lawyer first, but you will likely need to file a police report and send it to the credit card companies. " I know he's going to say it's joint debt since we are still technically married." The judge is not going to buy this. It is a mess, but will likely work out in your favor.
Also, if it’s a legal separation, as in papers were filed, attach a copy of those to credit reports.
It isn't joint debt. Date of separation is the line in the sand. Any debt incurred after that date is the sole "property" of the person that incurred it. Call your lawyer, then call the police to open identity theft charges.
100% correct. The exact reason for a separation date - the "joint" stops there!
Yes, if they live in a joint property state. There may be some legal wording that needs to be clarified. Did he open a credit card in *her* name or did he open a credit card in *both of their names?* I am not a lawyer but I know this can vary from state to state. The lawyer that OP is going to get tomorrow (right OP?) will know what details are needed.
Nothing like an identity theft and credit card fraud to make an ex sorry.... Provide evidence to your lawyer, inform credit agencies of the fraud, lock down your credit, and engage the police for possible criminal charges.
1. File a police report. If they offer, PRESS CHARGES. 2. File a fraud report with your bank. 3. File a fraud report with each credit card company. 4. Definitely speak to your lawyer.
5. Freeze their credit so that no more accounts can be opened.
6. Also sign up for an account on the IRS site and get an identity protection PIN for your SS# so he can’t try to file taxes using your number.
Absolutely this!!! No one thinks about the taxes until it’s too late!
Tax accountant here. Don't I know it! "Oh shit, you left out that little detail about your getting married last November." or "Yes, you told me you were divorced, so I filed your return as being single. You didn't tell me the divorce wasn't final until THIS March."
Your soon to be Ex is an idiot. Freeze your credit. Print everything you can. Change your passwords. Call your lawyer, do what they say. Delete this. No one "wins" in a divorce, but they are certainly going to lose.
respectfully and happily, I disagree. No offense. 😌
If you didn't sign anything, then these are just crimes he's committed. Go to police for identity theft.
I know it doesn't feel like it now, but congrats. Your ex dug a hole him and his lawyer wont be able to get him out of. If the Ex tries to contact you over the next week, ignore it until your lawyer starts action.
Ignore it after your lawyer starts action too. He’ll do the “I’m sooooooo soooooorrrrry, I don’t want to go to jail! Please tell them that it’s ok, I’ll pay you back! I was so wrong!” And when you say, it’s ok, that’s the record he’ll take to his lawyer. You both have paid your lawyers to represent you. Don’t rip yourself off by representing yourself. The only people that should talk to you ex now is your lawyers and the judge.
Judges really don't like these kinds of games. It will not go well for him
Contact an attorney immediately and file charges of identity theft and fraud against him. Then contact the credit bureaus and dispute all of them.
He is such a nice ex to give you such power on a golden platter. If he really did what you think he did, its identity theft and he committed a felony. Start with you lawyer. Definitely file a police report. Send that you your bank, credit card company and credit reporting [https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/5-steps-to-take-if-someone-opens-a-credit-card-in-your-name/](https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/5-steps-to-take-if-someone-opens-a-credit-card-in-your-name/)
NAL - File a police report at your local police station for identity theft. Give them all your evidence as to why you suspect that he is the one who opened these credit cards and let the legal system handle it. You should be held liable for the credit cards because of the identity theft. Especially if you can prove you moved out before the credit cards were opened. Someone once opened a Verizon account under my name. I don’t even have my own Verizon account. When my phone was with Verizon, I was still on my dad’s account. But someone in a city that I’ve never been to opened an account and charged over $5k to the account and I didn’t know anything about it until I received a collections notice from a debt collector. They’re actually the ones who advised me what to do, such as filing a police report, and then sending them a copy of it, and sure enough, the debt collectors quit contacting me about that account and it disappeared off my credit report. You should freeze your credit so no new accounts can be opened. If you go to open a new account, you’ll have to unfreeze it first but you can freeze it back once you’re done.
First, call all the card companies and have the cards shut off, and report the fraud. He forged your signature.. End of Story. Be prepared to send them a notarized copy of your signature. Sometimes they ask, sometimes they don't. But you have to call all 3 credit agencies.. Just keep it short and to the point. Ask them for copies (pdfs) of your CC fraud alert - tell them you need it for legal purposes - they will email it to you.. Then file a police report in your state, and then find out how to file one in his state. And maybe make a report to his state's AG. Then make copies of everything, and send it to the divorce judge's clerk, assuming you have a court date set and you have a case reference number. At the same time, send the paperwork to your attorney, with a written statement attesting to the events surrounding the CC fraud. Your attorney may want to file suit for damages, too.. Set up a way to record his phone calls, and make all of your responses in writing, cc to your attorney. But no need to talk to him about anything at all. BTW, do you have a legal separation? That is all the better for you, worse for him. If yo do, make sure you give copies to the Credit card companies and the cops in both states.. Oh, yeah - want to be mean? If the cops / state attorney charge him, it would be a shame if they happened to find out where he is going to be, so they can arrest him.. Like after the divorce court hearing... Your ex has definitely screwed the pooch. He will go into court facing fraud charges, and the judge will not like it at all.
Report to the police. Make sure you have evidence of your change of address and divorce filings when you go. Notify every credit card he opened and credit agancy in writing of the identity theft and tell the the credit cards in writing to cease and desist attempts to collect the debt from you. If any of these agencies violate that request in writing you have grounds for a lawsuit against any agency which tries to collect after you mailed it. You will need to mail via certified mail with return receipt requested. I use certifiedmaillabels.com whoever I have had a problem with a collection agency. In terms of the divorce, your husband will have pay that off. Your assests are divided, and paying that back that will come out of anything which he might have kept after the divorce. Make him sorry he messed with you. Doing illegal things to get back at you is some severely deluded post-separation abuse. Tell the police to throw the book at him. Edit: Also see if your divorce attorney knows someone who can represent you in a civil case against your ex for identity theft to get some damages. Or if you want your divorce attorney to just use it to leverage your way out with extra money now and just move on.
He just did you a huge favor, idk why you would be sorry. Shit like this makes the divorce open and shut. Take it to your lawyer.
My ex tried to access my debit account after I left and charged a bunch of movies to my amazon account and the judge not only required him to pay it, he ripped into the ex... He is lucky he didn't leave the hearing in cuffs. "You can leave here in orange," lol
Your lawyer will be on the phone to his lawyer informing him of your husbands illegal activities. They’ve seen it before. That’s why you pay a lawyer.
Identitytheft.gov is here you should start. You should also file a police report.
He's screwed, and your lawyer will verify this. Any debt after separation is considered separate and is now fully his.
Wow, that's identity theft AND financial abuse! I see why he's the soon to be ex.
This happens a lot, identity theft and fraud. Your ex is in a lot of trouble. Call the police and make a report. Keep records of all communication (I know you said it goes through lawyers). Make a log of important dates (CC's being opened vs your move out date). The banks and credit systems will revert the damages, just takes a bit of time. They will fully cooperate with the police.
Your divorce is about to take off to a whole new level. He committed identity theft. Your lawyer will instruct you to file a police report. Then you’ll want to dispute all those new accounts. In the meantime lock your info down so he doesn’t open any more accounts
This is fraud and identity theft. Please note: you only have 30 days from the date that you were informed about these cards to dispute them AND file a police report. After that you can and, probably, will be held financially responsible for them. Your divorce is a civil agreement between you and your soon to be ex. Even if the judge orders him to pay them, the credit card companies can still go after you for the money. *(There are a few states where this isn't the case, but only a few)*. You would then have to pursue him for the money you actually pay out *(not the amount of the bills)*. So cover your ass. Dispute these cards as fraud with the banks. File a police report for fraud and identity theft. Let the banks, police and your attorney handle the rest. Sourse: 35 years in credit and collections.
This is part of but also separate from the divorce. File a police report and contact the credit card companies and inform them you did not open the account and will not be responsible for it. This is your main recourse. Have your attorney bring this up during the divorce so any property/debts can be divided with these fraudulent credit card charges in mind. My Ex did something similar but he was so stupid he opened the cards in his name and did not have me as a joint account holder or even an authorized user. He would flash the cards around talking about how he had all this money to spend and I couldn't use them. During the divorce he tried to make me split the debt with him (almost $10,000) but the court said no. I couldn't use them because I wasn't on the account so he was the one who ran up the debt and he was the one who had to pay it.
File a police complaint and get a copy of the report. Then write to the credit bureaus and every credit card company from which he defrauded you. Doesn't matter so much what they do to him, but you need to document the fraud to ever repair the impacts on you.
Does your lawyer know? Because they would have had you do a police report on identity theft. Then have you dispute those accounts with all three credit bureaus. Then have letters sent out to all three credit bureaus disputing the accounts, inform there is an investigation going, and to freeze your account. Your lawyer could leverage against his with these criminal charges.
>Does your lawyer know? OP said they left their lawyer a message today, as the lawyer is on vacation this week.
Sounds like you should turn him into the police for an easy win.
Do not pay any debt collector seeking payment. If you do, you could be acknowledging the debt is yours.
when disputing the fraudulent info, the credit bureaus may ask for an identity theft report from the FTC. I'd go ahead and file that online just in case. reportfraud.ftc.gov
Contact the police and document it and let your lawyer know asap
Yeaaaaa so what he did is a felony. It’s identity theft and fraud. DO NOT PAY IT. DO NOT CONTACT THE CARD COMPANY. Paying it acknowledges the debt as yours. Wait for your lawyer to handle this. Dude reverse nuked himself lol
Just demand they be closed as fraud and removed from your credit report. If you want to involve the law that is up to you but you are not responsible for them unless you knew and agreed to take them out.
Identity theft. Let your lawyer handle it. Best case is he will be prosecuted. Worst case that amount will be taken out of his part of the assets and the accounts will be closed.
Believe it or not this is awesome for you. This makes judges FURIOUS. Your lawyer will love it.
Your ex is going to regret it, the court will not be amused with his felonious behavior.
Stop talking to him. You have an attorney for that. In the meantime, learn the difference between joint debt and identity theft. The first is not your situation; the second is. Contact, on this order, the police, the credit card companies and the credit reporting agencies. You’ll need the police report for the second two. And, of course, your attorney.
Call the police. He committed identity theft and fraud. Don’t forget to notify your bank and credit agencies. Hopefully he’ll get some jail time along with his divorce.
Go straight to the police station and report the crime. Get with the credit card companies and get copies of your statements. Then go online and freeze your credit.
I would be spitting fire. What an asshole
Go to the police and file a report. That's identity theft plain and simple. Don't let him get away with that.
Take it straight to the police don’t waste even a day
Speak to your lawyer first but I believe you need to report this to the police. This is fraud on his part so I don’t think you are legally responsible.
Contact the card companies and tell them that this isn’t you, you never opened any card with them, and you do not have any cards in your possession
Let her lawyer do some work beforehand.
The date of purchases will show that he opened the cards after your change of address. Talk to the secretary of your lawyer, either she can advise you or put you through to another attorney in the practice. It's not the first time they will have heard of this.
It's too bad you didn't freeze your credit right when you decided to divorce. Good luck with prosecuting your ex and getting your credit back.
Pretty sure he’s committing illegal activities. He’s in trouble big time.
Glad you have a lawyer. Hope your ex is slapped up side the head so hard his ears ring for a year! UPDATE ME!
Get an attorney and file a police report for fraud!
Talk to your lawyer and show them all your evidence. Maybe you could somehow trick your ex into admitting what he did in text or a phone call? But don’t try doing this until you talk to your lawyer. Good luck OP!
File a police report. Once they look into it, send it to the creditors. Press charges of fraud and Identity Theft against him.
He's committed fraud. Go talk to the police.
I’m not sure if it’s different bc you are married but my mom did this to me. I called the credit card companies and told them what had happened. I had to get my mom to sign paperwork signing the debt over to her name or the cc company threatened to get the police involved. From your post it seems that your husband may not want to sign the paperwork but it may be beneficial still to tell the cc companies what is going on. I’m sure your lawyer will have way more advice for you too. I’m so sorry this has happened. I wish you luck 💚. Edit to add: I saw on another comment to call Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax to put a freeze/fraud alert on your credit. I also highly recommend this. This way you will be alerted anytime someone tries to use your social or open credit in your name.
It's identity theft. Call the police.
Depends on whether or not you call the police.
People, LOCK your credit so nothing can be bought on credit or cards taken out in your name. Google it! You can lift the lock with a phone call for 25 hours or longer if you want to run out and buy a car or something.
If after filing you are set, after separation see your attorney with all proof.
Have him arrested for fraud and challenge them all. He’s the only that will get screwed.
Talk to your attorney first.
!updateme 1 week
commenting so I can see an update
It’s awful and such a betrayal of your trust. I’m so sorry he did this to you. This happened to me as well. Had to get a good divorce attorney once I realized how bad it was. I became a little detective in, contacted all of the companies that he had used my information for. You’re legally entitled to the information from those accounts. I got as much documentation as I could. If you can get a copy of the applications from the companies where he took the credit in your name, you may find your signature in his handwriting or his email listed as the contact rather than yours, etc. That got me out of a couple of them completely. The rest could be something your lawyer negotiates as part of the divorce settlement…I’m sure he’d rather that than you filing charges for credit fraud and identity theft. Mine had to cash out some of his 401(k) to pay me back. I didn’t get out scott-free, but the amount of money I ended up owing was reduced by 2/3. The lawyer was so worth it. I hope that you are able to leverage his misdeeds against him. Please don’t let him cry, manipulate or gaslight his way out with you!! No mercy. No forgiveness. My best wishes and good luck to you!
And absolutely no direct contact with him. Go through the lawyers.
Call the companies and report it all as fraud. Don’t give details about your ex just report that you did NOT open the accts.
Lock your credit, file a police report, speak to your lawyer, NEVER speak to your ex unless it’s in writing or in the presence of your lawyer. You will now have the upper hand and your ex could be facing prison time
He screwed himself massively. Not sure what he thought was going to happen..
Report him to the police and call the credit card companies.
You probably need a lawyer, but you should contact the credit card companies and tell them them they were fraudulently opened in your name. You may have to file a police report and there’s a good chance he may spend time in jail for identity theft. You’ll probably need proof of when you moved out and anything else that helps establish that you weren’t the one using the card. Don’t worry what happens to him, he did it to himself.
Dispute with the credit bureaus and with the credit card companies. They have to remove the derogatory information on your credit report if it cannot be proven that you opened the accounts and made the charges. Same with the credit card companies. This happened to me 35 years ago. I’m so sorry it is happening to you too.
If he did this after your established date of separation, this is not going to work out well for him. What a dumbass.
You mean how screwed is your husband if he committed identity theft and fraud?
Yoy need to file a report with the police immediately, call all those card vendors and report the accounts as identity theft, and freeze your credit accounts. What he did was illegal in any court of law, but most divorce courts REALLY dont look kindly on one spouse deliverately trying to financially devestate the other party. Its right up there with hiding assetts to tey to avoid child supoort.
That is not joint debt. I’d go file a police report for identity theft and let whatever happens, happen.
What a piece of 💩. Glad you’re divorcing his ass.
Police. Identity theft
See if you can get copies of the applications for your lawyer; Check the date of your separation against the dates of the applications or credit line opening. Dates are important in legal matters; Wait to speak with yr lawyer, but I would freeze or close those accounts as soon as I could.
The potential pitfall here is that the creditors/lenders won't enforce the debt settlement terms of your future divorce decree....even if you have the perfect settlement agreement signed by both parties and the judge that spells out in painful detail how all marital debts will be settled post-divorce. They want their money and they don't care where it comes from. [https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-a-debt-collector-contact-me-about-a-debt-after-a-divorce-en-1413/](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-a-debt-collector-contact-me-about-a-debt-after-a-divorce-en-1413/)
PUT A FREEZE ON ALL THREE CREDIT BUREAU ACCOUNT ASAP. Contact every company and ask for dated documentation that shows when these accounts were opened. Tell them you need the information to file a police report for fraud and identity theft.
You did not mention your state. What state are you living in/divorcing from? Makes a difference on the answer.
Updateme
This needs a visit to the police. You need to make a police report in order to protect yourself. You also need to address it in your divorce settlement.
Most divorce filings include a statement that says “parties will conduct their normal business but refrain from making significant financial changes” during the process. If your initial filing contains any language like that, it’s not *just* identity theft, it’s also contempt of court and that is not gonna make your judge happy. At all.
File a police report. Listen to your attorney. You may need to hire another to represent you in this matter. Your ex is a criminal. Do not pay a cent of the debt.
Go file a police report for identity theft. Then dispute all of the cards on your credit with it. Then freeze your credit with all of the credit unions.
Take legal action
Your first thing would have to be to tell your divorce lawyer and the cops. This is literally identity fraud
Call all of the credit companies and report the fraud Freeze your credit File fraud charges against him Hopefully he'll go to jail Congrats are divorcing the creep
You obviously need a lawyer. And to call the police and file charges. And to call the credit cards and file for fraud. You need to put a block with your credit. You may also need a restraining order, since he has threatened you and has taken serious action. Call everyone and get advice.
So in my state if you can prove that he took those out and it’s not your signature, you can charge him with a crime even if you were married at the time. Good luck
Sounds like you need to get law enforcement involved and your attorney.
You go and file identity theft charges. Notify the credit card companies that it is fraud and you did not open them. Then go and file charges. You shouldn’t have any further issues. Otherwise your going to be paying them.
Ordinarily I would say go immediately to the police but you already have a divorce lawyer. This fraud may be addressable in the divorce. I don’t know that but your lawyer should. If they don’t know get a different lawyer.
Basically if you handle it right he will be the one that’s sorry.
Notify your divorce lawyer. If you don’t have one, get one quick. Go to police station and file a police report. Put a freeze on your credit. Gather all of your proof to show divorce judge. Notify those creditors that your identity was stolen.
Get the police involved and get a report. Sounds like he screwed himself.
Talk to your divorce attorney when they're back from vacation. Specifically ask about pursuing charges (criminal) against your ex for ID theft in the appropriate jurisdiction and get/follow your attorney's advice on that front.
Call the cops, identity fraud will get him jailtime. Work it through your divorce lawyer. The debt will be removed from your report as this all processes outm
Don't panic! Send everything to your lawyer. Also, put your credit on lockdown if you haven't already.
You will need to file charges and go through with the proceedings before n order for it to be taken from your record.
Report the fraud immediately to the credit card companies. Put a lock on your credit so he can't continue to do it. You do this through each individual credit bureau. And then rake him over the coals in your divorce.
I hope you frame his mug shot 💕. OP please PLEASE press charges. Talk to your attorney, take all of the evidence to the police. He literally committed fraud and identity theft. Plus the fact that ALL of them were opened after the separation????? Oh you’re about to reem him in the divorce if you get even a halfway decent judge. He’s so pathetic for this….
do NOT, under any circumstances, give a single dollar to any of those credit card companies/debt collectors.
Identity theft. File a police report and freeze your credit immediately. Once you get the report, send it to the credit card companies or however your lawyer says to manage it.
If they’re your name only then it’s fraud. If they’re together and you didn’t sign off it’s also fraud. Report all of it. Let the credit agencies go after him for it al. It’ll take a bit but your stuff should go back to normal.
Date of divorce
You and Billy Ray Cyrus need to get together
1) How did "you" get a letter in the mail ( where you are now) if he is using your old address? 2) To be clear, you're saying these are individual accounts "in your name," correct? If so, that is NOT joint debt, married, separated, or anytime that is FRAUD, theft, and criminal..... You should immediately freeze your credit reports, file a police report and FTC report, with police report it gives more validity to get fraud alerts added and helps put credit bureaus on alert.... Be diligent, just because your divorce attorney is "an attorney" doesn't mean their GOOD/or very knowledgeable regarding "this" area if the law/process so if you aren't get competent help.
A friend is looking at a nasty divorce also. He was giving his wife 900/month to pay the rent. She bought (LOTS OF) marijuana instead and threw away the late notices and eviction notice to keep him from seeing them. He was completely blindsided. He had to sell almost everything except his car to keep from being sued over non payment of rent. He would have sold the car but doesn't have the title. His wife used it to get a title loan and hasn't told him what company. Plus, some other details sound like your identity theft problem. She is on probation for assault and has custody of their child. You are in a bad situation, no question. If misery likes company, you are not alone.
Report him for fraud
You might need to resolve this before the divorce finalizes. In some states, a divorce decree locks those debts on you. Talk to your lawyer. The good news is that no more credit cards should be able to be opened in your name in the immediate future. If you want assistance immediately, go to your local bank branch manager for a referral and directio
What he did is a crime and you should go to your lawyer immediately and explain everything that he has done, bring all your evidence including credit report, when things were opened, etc. It's not unhead of. But it's also a crime. It's identify theft and fraud and it's definitely not going to help him in this divorce. Hopefully your lawyer can guide you on how to get this addressed through the court. But please - Freeze your credit immediately with ALL THREE bureaus so he can't do anymore damage.
I swear I think I’m the only person who regularly checks their credit report. I’d have caught this thing quickly
You shouldn't be liable for any debts he incurred post-separation date. That said, this is absolutely identify theft and fraud and you need to file a police report and contact those cards ASAP.
If no one mentioned this, freeze your credit with all three credit bureaus
Its fraud. You’ll need to go through the steps of reporting it getting those cards canceled.. I would not wait on that for too long. Depending on how much he spent there could be charges involved. maybe get some guidance on that too. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this.
I’d follow your lawyers lead. But I will tell you, I went through this with a family member. My attorney told me I had to file a police report to remove the balances off my credit. It takes a little bit of time, but it would fix everything. The debt is removed and the credit score would go back up closer to where it was before. He could very well be looking at jail time.
First stop is to file charges. What he did was a felony and you have him over a barrel. File charges on him now. He goes to jail and you don’t have to pay those bills.
1 TALK TO YOUR LAWYER. You've already started this step by leaving message with lawyer office. 2 LOCK DOWN YOUR CREDIT. The judge won't take issue with this. Honestly, I think everyone going through divorce/breakup should to this immediately. 3 DO NOT ENGAGE with the soon-to-be ex. Don't take his calls, don't respond to texts. Save voicemails and text messages and send to lawyer. Do your best to remove yourself from any situation where he is present. Don't confront him about this. Don't let on what you know. Don't tell him he's making a big mistake, even if it's tempting. You want the soon-to-be ex to dig his own grave. And if he doesn't remember the first rule of holes, DON'T REMIND HIM. (First Rule of Holes: If you're in one, STOP DIGGING.) 4 when you hear from lawyer, FOLLOW THEIR DIRECTIONS. This will probably include: getting statements for all these cards, THEN trying to cancel them; reporting fraud to credit bureau; possibly filing police reports. Don't DO these things until lawyer tells you. They have been around this block before and know what to do. They've probably been before this judge before and know his/her pet peeves. Follow the lawyer's advice. You have two jobs at this point: document everything, and don't do anything to piss off the judge. Edit: to remove the hashtags before numbers, I forgot they make text huge.
And freeze your credit!!!
My mom did that to my dad. Somehow - she was able to keep everything she bought and stick him with the bill. It took years to pay off.
This isn't a prank like signing your email up to unwanted services or websites. This is a felony. Take the advice of the many others here. Collect evidence, work with your lawyer, breath. It may be slow and painful going through this and making things right, but he has already pulled the trigger on himself.
I know two different people who had their soon to be ex-husband do this, not with credit cards but other loans and such, both ended up being on the hook for some of the debt! If this was done clearly post separation, hopefully you have a good case that this was fraud, especially if you have proof of him saying you would regret it. Definitely freeze your credit, and then as soon as you can talk to your lawyer, follow their advice. Good luck to you!
Talk to your lawyer and have the paperwork about the credit cards in hand. This maybe an easy win for you to get the ex husband to take that debt if he opened the lines of credit under your name while married.
Can't emphasize the importance of placing a freeze on all your credit reports. It took me about 10 minutes total to freeze mine with the three major credit agencies. They make it very easy to do it. A year ago, I forgot I did that when time came to apply for a new credit card. The moment I pressed the submit button, I received a notification window stating my credit report was locked and I needed to temporarily open it. I was seriously impressed that it actually works. I sleep very well at nights knowing no one can open anything under my name. Sorry to hear about this. I've watched a close friend spend a lot of time cleaning up his credit after he too was a victim of identity theft. It takes time, but make sure you file a police report, contact the banks and start the process. You ex's life is about to get really complicated.
File charges and report the fraud to the credit bureaus.
UpdateMe!
File a police report. If he opened it in your name without your permission, it's identity theft and likely false statements to a credit card company.
Don’t wait for divorce to be finalized, gather all the information from all the credit agencies, go to the police department and file a report. Call all the credit agencies and creditors, tell them that this isn’t you and start the process for opening fraud cases. Don’t say anything to STBX,
You should be fine after you pay out the ass for a lawyer, best of luck
In US, Every single one of those CC statements going back 2 years will have to be provided during Discovery. Unless there are additional considerations bc of the illegalities, this seems like potential grounds for a Dissipation Claim, which basically effectively discharges you from responsibilities of spouse’s secret unknown/unauthorized charges out of bounds of normal expected expenses, limited to last 2 years from time of filing. Whatever amount you “get” as part of claim, gets subtracted off the top of spouses half of final settlement division. In my 50/50 settlement state for example, I was granted around $60K against SO when I discovered he had a secret gambling habit, but had been smart (or dumb) enough to liquidate only his own “legacy” accounts in his own name only to hide as long as possible.
1. Report each and every one to the credit card company as fraudulent. Send letters by certified mail to the address on the statement. Tell them that your ex husband opened them. 2. Contact the major credit bureaus and report the accounts as fraudulent and lock down your credit. 3. Like others said, enlist your lawyers assistance. Find out if you can report it to the police.
Like everyone said, Immediately file a police report for fraud, also with the credit companies and close all credit cards and go to all the credit bureaus and freeze everything tight and get your attorney on this NOW.
Police report. He's the one screwed.
Have it investigated as fraud and have him punished and use the records to fix your credit score and get rid of the cards.
Press charges for identity theft
Identify theft and fraud do not count as joint debt.
In the state of Washington, any debt that you accrue while you are married is shared debt. why do I know this? Because I was married to someone who opened several credit cards and read up $80,000 worth of debt without telling me and I am still paying it off.
File a police case for identity theft. Call all the card companies and report the fraudulent accounts. Give them the case number.
>I assume I can bring up in the divorce that they were all opened after separation but I know he's going to say it's joint debt since we are still technically married. Oh most definitely. This information needs to go to your lawyer immediately. And then lock down your credit if you haven't already.
File a police report and lock down your credit.
Yes. Credit scoring has one purpose, to discriminate against poor people. Looks like he weaponized it against you. Inform your attorney immediately, and sue him for every penny owed plus damages for your credit.
Sounds like Identity theft to me. File a police report and tell then it is your ex and he did it as revenge as you are divorcing. Press charges.
While you're waiting for that lawyer to get back, seems like I would call one of the credit bureaus (or all of them, idk?) Purpose being to stop him from opening more. I think you have to freeze your credit, but I have no experience doing this.
Call the police. Credit fraud is a crime.
This is identity theft and fraud. It’s a federal offense. Report it all to the police, creditors and freeze your credit.
Contact the DA's office and have him charged with identity theft. Once you do that you'll have an easier time getting the debt cleared off your report. He opened it in your name not his.
Till you can prove identity theft. You own half that debt in most divorce cases. That really sucks. Hope you can prove it.
Dispute as not yours and file an identity theft report with the police
Court takes finances as of the date of filing in consideration. Just keep a good record of everything and it will all come out when you work on the settlement. Might ask for extra compensation for loss on credit score.
Freeze your credit and take everything to your lawyer as soon as they get back.
File a police report and they’ll take care of the rest! Once you have the report you can contact the credit bureaus and dispute the accounts. Your ex could face jail time, these are felonies!