Robin wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you totally for free.
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“Dear Steve,
What I need to know is can I file on credit cards that I am only authorized user?
It is in my 70 year old mothers name, would it be possible to do a debt settlement on these accounts? She doesn’t have the funds available to make the payments and neither do I…She has credit score close to 800 and I really need to know what other options I may have. When I was working it wasn’t such a problem to make payments but now it is impossible to pay $799 a month on credit card debt and that is on a hardship program! I have an income of $900 a month and receive $79 a week for child support. Please help me figure out something. I know bankruptcy would be my ONLY solution if these debts didn’t involve my mother. Thanks again.
Robin”
The Answer:
Dear Robin,
You can’t include those debts in your bankruptcy because legally they are not your debts. They are the debts of the cardholder, your elderly mother.
Anything you do less than making the minimum monthly payment on those debts will result in creditors chasing your mother for the debt and damaging her credit.
If neither you nor your mother can afford the payments, your mother may have to look into bankruptcy to stop this mess.
I know you want better news but the situation is what it is.
Please update me on your progress by posting updates here in the comments section of your question. I’m very interested in how this works out for you.
P.S. Be sure to read ‘The Secret of Surviving Through Difficult Economic Times. What I Learned On My Journey‘.