Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Spouses car accident

My husband and I are separate. We do not live together and he owned his own vehicle but did not have any insurance. He was involved in an auto accident. If the other driver wants to sue him fromt he accident, can I be pulled into his mess as well since technically we are still married?


Asked on 3/17/08, 1:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Spouses car accident

You had nothing to do with this, so there are no grounds to sue you. The only potential issue is collection. If the injured person obtains a judgment on your husband, then they will go about trying to collect on that judgment.

If the two of you own property together as husband and wife in Pennsylvania, then they cannot go after that property. Anything he owns under his own name is fair game, however, even if your money or marital assets are wrapped up in that as well. For example, if there is a bank account under his name only, then that money is subject to collection.

Any physical property that you own as joint tenants (as opposed to being tenants in the entirety with a right of survivorship) is also potentially subject to partition or collection, or at the very least, a lien on the property.

I'm giving you the worst case scenario here, which would also be very far down the line. The good news is that you should not in any way be involved in the litigation of the case. Good luck.

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Answered on 3/17/08, 2:01 pm


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