“Dear Steve,
Wife and I separated in 2005. In 2006 wife took Specialty Loan using a general power of attorney I had given her in case of emergency which was the same year of the loan. About 10 month ago she stop paying the loan.
I’m currently under investigation for a government clearance and this might affect the outcome. They called me once about the debt and when I gave them the above info, they never called me back but reported me to collection.
What can I do to get such debt erased from my records or have them transfer it to my ex-wife? What are my possible options?
Domingo”
Dear Domingo,
From reading your question I believe what happened was your ex-wife entered into an agreement for a loan using the power-of-attorney you had given her. In that case she probably took out the loan in your name so in fact it would be your loan.
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When you give someone power-of-attorney you often give them the right to act in your place and on your behalf. The actual authority you grant to them is spelled out in the power-of-attorney document you used. Some are just for a particular purpose while others very broad in nature.
So if your ex-wife did in fact take out the loan in your name using your power-of-attorney authorization, it seems it is your loan and you are responsible for it. She would have acted in your place using the authority you had granted her.
If you feel your wife acted outside of the authority of the power-of-attorney you granted to her then you would need to go after her personally.
I would advise you to talk to your attorney or find a local attorney who is licensed in your state to determine what, if any, recourse you might have.
Outside of that I can’t see any reason why the lender would either remove you or transfer the loan taken out in your name.
Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.
