Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Texas

I have a question about my rights concerning medical bills and my credit report.

When I was 19, I got sick so my mother took me to the emergency room.

Now I am 22, and I find on my credit report the medical bills from that time my mom took me to the hospital. I had NO idea she had never paid the bills. I was in college at the time, and the collection agency letters and the hospital bills all went to her address because that is the information she filled out for me when she admitted me to the ER.

She never told me anything about the letters and bills! In fact, when I found out a few months ago she hired a credit clearing agency to clear the debt BEHIND MY BACK. She impersonated my identity to set up the client information with them to get rid of the bills she knew she did not pay for.

They got rid of them on my report. But now they are showing up again. I then found out accidentally she had me set up with Lexington Law and she was mad that the debt showed up again and cancelled them.

I called her to ask about the bills and she refuses to talk to me now. (We have a bad relationship to start with) She said she did pay them and has proof, but will not give me the receipts and I can just deal with it. In other words, I doubt she paid them. What can I do? I had no idea I even had these bills because I was never informed that my mother never paid them for me. One bill is 289 and the other 900 dollars.

Am I really stuck with the bill now?


Asked on 1/14/14, 9:53 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Fran Brochstein Attorney & Mediator

After you turn 18, you are an adult in the State of Texas. Your mother is not liable for any of your debts - being in college is irrelevant.

Therefore, these are your debts - not your mother's.

You need to enter into a payment plan to pay them.

Unfortuantely, you cannot force your mother to cooperate.

You were able to get them off your credit because they companies did not reply quickly enough to the credit bureau. However, they have apparently re-entered the debts because they are valid.

If you want to contest them yourself with the credit bureau you certainly can. You can put a "comment" in your credit file saying you were unaware of these debts & that your mother says she paid them. I don't know if this will solve your problem in the future when you apply for credit.

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Answered on 1/18/14, 12:11 pm


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