Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

My divorce was finalized in September of 2012,

in small chunks. To total amount of all these bills was like $8,000.

I just received a letter in the mail, last week, stating they are going to take me to court, freeze my bank account, and take away my home. and shortly after that I started to receive Doctor and Hospital bills from this company. Most of the bills were listed under my ex-wife's name which under the use R Recourses. I

divorce decree, it states that she is responsible for her own doctor bills, half of my children's doctor bills(there are 4 of them).

So, I contacted them and explained this situation to them. However, they said that they do not get involved with third party disputes. So, I was not sure what I can do because they were threatening me to take me to court, so I had no idea what to do. So, I arranged a small payment between $20 to $40 dollars a month to pay them

Look, I am a single dad with four kids at home. In April, I received a notice, from the place of my employment, that they were closing the doors in ninety days, which will be at the end of July (state law). Very soon I am going to un-employed, and I am not sure where to turn to get help with this. I mean, it is only $8,000 dollars and I can not put my family in harms way(financially) over doctor and hospital bills.

Please help with any advice you can give me, because the letter states that in 10 days they can take legal action. I work night so I sleep during the day. The best time to contact me is before 10 a.m. Please help out with the best of your ability so I know what I can


Asked on 5/07/13, 5:30 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Scott Daniel U. Scott, Esq.

Sorry to hear about this problem. The information the Creditor provided to you is correct. The divorce order is only binding between you and your ex-wife. The court order can not be used to force the Creditor to collect from your ex-wife though she is legally liable for payment. You should contact the Creditor again and ask for more time prior to commencing legal action even if that requires trying to work out a payment plan with the creditors. I know that you will not want to agree to pay any part of the debt that is owed by your ex-wife but her failure to pay can and will damage your credit. You should also go back to court and file for enforcement of the divorce terms requiring that she pay her part of the debt and/or reimburse you for the money you had to pay upfront to pay the Creditors. You can also as the Judge to award you attorney fees for having to hire an attorney (if you do hire an attorney to represent you) for forcing your ex-wife to pay her part as well as not informing you of the bills in a reasonable time prior to them going to collection.

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Answered on 5/07/13, 7:16 am


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