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In 2005 my partner of 12 years died. His death was sudden. He was unable to ger credit because of a bad business deal years ago. He used credit cards that were in my name.
I have been paying monthly since then. I have managed to pay off 3 but some remain. Two of the Creditors have not contacted me for 2 years but I still pay every month. Is there a length of time when they would write off this debt. I am frightened to contact them. I have met a new man and have not told him about this debt. I worry about this every day.

[Violet31]

You are not alone, that´s for sure.

I have four credit cards I need to deal with before the end of the month and I dream about them every night.

I believe the first rule of business when dealing with creditors is to contact them and send them what you can pay as a token of good will. However, I know it is possible to write old debts off, but I´m not sure how you do it.

Get hold of legal aid, financial advisers and ask. Information is power. Take it one step at a time.

I also met a new man recently who is quite wealthy. I cannot tell him either about the fix I´m in. I intend to set a deadline for myself so I can end this state of constant fear of money and creditors.

Wishing you the best of luck,

Violet

[ScottGem]

First, since the cards are in your name, they are YOUR debt not his. So his death has no bearing on the debts.

Second, I'm not sure what you expect here. You said 2 of them don't contact you. Don't you get statements from them? I would not make payments without statements. If you are getting statements are you paying the minimum required payment? If not, then its possible the balance is not going down.

As Violet said, the worst thing you can do is not contact them. You need to contact all of them. Make sure the ones you think are paid off are really paid off (if you have statements showing a zero balance, that is sufficient). For those that still have a balance you need to know what the balance is and whether its being reduced by your payments and that your payments are being credited to the accounts.

As for writing them off, that doesn't affect you. A writeoff is simply a tax issue on the part of the creditor. It does not affect your obligation to pay or their right to try and collect.

And I would explain this to your new man. If he cares about you, he will understand and try to help.