Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Are we liable for brother's debt?
My brother has disappeared. He is divorced over 10 years, has two young teenage daughters, has been without a job a year and a half, and has a credit card debt of $30,000 with four companies that I am aware of. My question is: if he cannot be located, what recourse can the collectors use? My mother has his name as beneficiary of various accounts, mainly mutual accounts and life insurance. Can the collectors place a lien on anything his name and soc sec number are on, or only his direct accounts? Will his kids be affected in any way?
Thank you,
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Are we liable for brother's debt?
The issuers of the credit cards will be required to sue your brother, and obtain a judgment against him. Once that happens, they can enforce their judgment against any property your brother owns or has an interest in, to the extent of his interest. As a general rule, if his name is on a joint checking account with another person, the creditor would presumably be entitlted to collect one-half of the funds in that account. There are exceptions to this general rule, however, and it might depend upon the other person's ability to prove that the money in the account can be traced to a source other than your brother. An attorney would need more information to determine whether any particular asset could be used to enforce a judgment.
With respect to his daughters, unless your brother has passed away, and they have received property belonging to your brother with a probate proceeding, they would have no liability.
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