My sister and I share a home and have 5 kids between us. I am divorced, she was in the middle of a divorce, but her husband died suddenly. They had not been living together for several years or even in contact with each other. He rarely even saw his kids.
She is starting to get hounded by creditors. Apparently her late husband was running up TONS of debt while they were separated - most of which was expensive gifts to a girlfriend that my sister didn't even know about. In fact he was actually engaged to the other woman even though the divorce was not final. Sister and the "fiance" only found out about each other at the funeral - it wasn't very pretty, especially for the kids. He had told the other woman that he was divorced and that he didn't see his kids because his horrible ex wouldn't let him. She utterly freaked out when she found out that he was still legally married and so did a lot of other people who showed up at his funeral - people who were a part of his "other" life that he had told all sorts of lies to.
Well, it would appear that he was THOUSANDS of dollars in debt that my sister had ZERO knowledge of. He certainly wasn't giving her much, the reason we moved in together was because he stopped making mortgage payments on their home and she got foreclosed on last year. The so-called fiance has all the stuff that he bought and is refusing to give it up, but the creditors are coming after our family for the money. This includes a $2000 diamond engagement ring the other woman refuses to hand over.
We've already decided we're going to let his SUV, boat, and RV get repossessed. He's already destroyed my sister's credit rating with the mortgage foreclosure and she's at a point of not caring if it gets destroyed even worse. But, we're wondering if she has any recourse against the creditors other than bankruptcy, and can she legally force the other woman to hand over the gifts that my late brother-in-law really had no right to give her with money that should have been going to his wife and kids?
There won't be any money from his estate. They've managed to locate one life insurance policy and it's going to be about enough to cover the funeral costs. He lived in a rental, owed more on his vehicles than they were worth, and so far they've found at LEAST $30,000 worth of credit card debt. My sister and I are supporting ourselves and 5 kids on her income ($600/mo), my income ($800/mo), and combined child support ($800/mo) between us so if she is responsible for these debts we are going to be in a lot of trouble financially. I know she'll be getting social security for herself and her kids but that's going to take a while and the creditors are already starting to get nasty. And if the estate settlement drags on like the ones I've seen in the past, it could take 1 to 2 years to get settled. Can she just tell his creditors they'll have to wait, or is she legally responsible for the bills because their divorce hadn't yet finalized? What could they possibly take away from her if she doesn't pay up? Our parents own the house we live in, and so that can't be touched, but what about her minivan? And can they come after her social security when she's going to need it so desperately just to get by without any future child support?
She is starting to get hounded by creditors. Apparently her late husband was running up TONS of debt while they were separated - most of which was expensive gifts to a girlfriend that my sister didn't even know about. In fact he was actually engaged to the other woman even though the divorce was not final. Sister and the "fiance" only found out about each other at the funeral - it wasn't very pretty, especially for the kids. He had told the other woman that he was divorced and that he didn't see his kids because his horrible ex wouldn't let him. She utterly freaked out when she found out that he was still legally married and so did a lot of other people who showed up at his funeral - people who were a part of his "other" life that he had told all sorts of lies to.
Well, it would appear that he was THOUSANDS of dollars in debt that my sister had ZERO knowledge of. He certainly wasn't giving her much, the reason we moved in together was because he stopped making mortgage payments on their home and she got foreclosed on last year. The so-called fiance has all the stuff that he bought and is refusing to give it up, but the creditors are coming after our family for the money. This includes a $2000 diamond engagement ring the other woman refuses to hand over.
We've already decided we're going to let his SUV, boat, and RV get repossessed. He's already destroyed my sister's credit rating with the mortgage foreclosure and she's at a point of not caring if it gets destroyed even worse. But, we're wondering if she has any recourse against the creditors other than bankruptcy, and can she legally force the other woman to hand over the gifts that my late brother-in-law really had no right to give her with money that should have been going to his wife and kids?
There won't be any money from his estate. They've managed to locate one life insurance policy and it's going to be about enough to cover the funeral costs. He lived in a rental, owed more on his vehicles than they were worth, and so far they've found at LEAST $30,000 worth of credit card debt. My sister and I are supporting ourselves and 5 kids on her income ($600/mo), my income ($800/mo), and combined child support ($800/mo) between us so if she is responsible for these debts we are going to be in a lot of trouble financially. I know she'll be getting social security for herself and her kids but that's going to take a while and the creditors are already starting to get nasty. And if the estate settlement drags on like the ones I've seen in the past, it could take 1 to 2 years to get settled. Can she just tell his creditors they'll have to wait, or is she legally responsible for the bills because their divorce hadn't yet finalized? What could they possibly take away from her if she doesn't pay up? Our parents own the house we live in, and so that can't be touched, but what about her minivan? And can they come after her social security when she's going to need it so desperately just to get by without any future child support?
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