Hello,

My husband (before we were married), him and his ex wife had a credit card in 1995-1996. He didn't pay, but then received a letter in 2004 and he made a payment Sept 2004 and has not paid since. Last month we received a letter from a lawer claiming that we owe, and now his going to get his wages garnished. (his employer has been contacted) Can they do that?? If he is not employed, can they go after me?? We have only been married 2 years... we live in Georgia. Doesn't limitations state only 4 years?!

Doesn't limitations state only 4 years?!


Yeah. That may be, but if he contacted them and made a payment, they now have another 4 years (or however long the limitation is, I'm not sure) to pursue payment and they can garnish his wages. They can't come after a joint account you share, but I'm not sure if they can garnish your wages if he fails to pay.

They usually have to get a judgement before garnishing wages.

If it hasn't gotten to this point yet, he may be able to settle with them for a lump sum portion of the debt. If he was to do this and they accepted the offer to settle, make sure you get it in writing and make sure they write that the debt is considered paid in full. Otherwise they can sell the remaining balance to another debt collector who will try to collect on that.

To have wages garnished, a judgement has to be obtained first. If your husband was unaware of the judgement, then you may be able to quash the judgement on the grounds that you were never served a summons. But that's only a delaying tactic.

As noted the SOL can be extended if there is activity on the account.

However, they can't go after you.

The statute of limitations probably renewed when your husband made the payment in 2004. That being the case, if your state does in fact have a 4-year statute of limitations then you've got one more year to go. As far as the garnishment, has there been a judgement issued against your husband? If so, then his (but not yours) wages could be subject to garnishment. There's also the possibility that any accounts with his name on them could be frozen. You should probably open an account with only your name on it and have both yours and his wages direct deposited into it.

To confrim the info that I found on the internet!! Thanks!!

I believe so, but I will keep an eye out for it. Thanks, your answer helped!!