Can the US credit card company go after our Mexican home for unsecured debt?

Your question is not easily answered. It has nothing to do with bankruptcy law. This is more a debt collection question mixed with International (Mexican) Law. For example, can a judgment on a debt in the USA be enforced against your property "rights" in Mexico. Reading your description, you do not actually own all of the property interests of the property you are describing as that which you are "buying" in Mexico, as we understand ownership in California. Although similar to what we call "Trusts" in California, the process is not the same, nor are the consequences. You, as Fideicomitente, like the settlor of a trust, have to find an authorized institution in Mexico to act as Fiduciary, which is somewhat similar to a Trustee. The purpose of the Fiduciary is to own the title of the property and to carry out the Fideicomitente's instructions with regard to the how property transferred to the Fiduciary is to be administered, according to the Fideicomiso (or agreement, so to speak), for the sake of the ultimate beneficiary(ies), which are presumably you and your wife, plus any other named or described beneficiaries, who must be living or at least conceived at the time the agreement, or Fideicomitente. The "beneficiary(ies)" is/are called the Fideicomisario(s). It seems you may be wrong about the exemption of your property in California if it is paid off. You have at maximum $175,000 of equity which you can protect. Many people think their home is protected by a homestead, but the amount is limited to that maximum amount if either of you are a senior aged 65 or older, or formally disabled. Clearly, you also do not seem to understand the process of property transfers in Mexico. If you do understand it, you are not describing it with enough detail for your question to be answered. Certain questions have to be asked and answered. For example, is the Fideicomitente irrevocable or revocable by you or by direction of the Fideicomisarios (beneficiaries)? What is permitted by the Fideicomitente? Have you entered into this agreement with the help of counsel who is knowledgeable about property "ownership" in Mexico? If not, you need an attorney who is so equipped. An attorney from Mexico may be able to help you, if he/she is trustworthy. As an aside, if you have not sold your property in California yet, the creditor can obtain a judgment and seek a lien to attach to your property. They would then be paid upon the sale of your property, after you have been paid the exemption amount to which you are entitled. That amount owed will be greater after a lawsuit. So, you would be wise to not disclose to the credit card company that you are considering this move. You may want to take one of several steps to delay any execution on a judgment that the creditor may seek. In California, any transfer of property to avoid litigation is called a "fraudulent transfer", and can be avoided, ordinarily, by the court. You should be doing nothing without sitting down with an attorney skilled in debt defense. You should be very careful in this planning stage. Please understand that this answer is based upon a brief review of a single article on the nature of the law in Mexico relative to Fideicomiso law. I am not an authority on such transfers, to say the least. However, you seem even less uncertain of what you are considering, so you need legal counsel from a source other than this forum, in my opinion. You can seek counsel from an attorney by finding someone near your home using the tab at the top of this page. I certainly hope that you are not doing all of this to merely avoid a fight over a mere $15K in alleged debt which could probably be negotiated down to a much smaller settlement. You may find unintended consequences resulting from your lack of knowledge of Mexican law. Just remember that you cannot protect more than 175,000 in home equity if a lien has been attached to your home. Please try to seek legal counsel before you are sued.

I concur with atty Gist. This is a complicated matter calling for the expertise of a competent RE/BK lawyer.

I also agree with attorney Gist. A cogent analysis. If the credit card company does sue you, be sure to file an answer denying that you owe the debt.You don't want to give the credit cad company the opportunity to take a default judgment against you.

I think the best thing to do is to contact an attorney who can communicate with the debt collection company to either settle the debt, or convince them that this is not your debt. Avoiding a judgment initially is a better strategy.

Consider first addressing the issue of you not owing the debt. It's illegal to collect on something that's not actually owed! Get a free case evaluation from a Consumer Protection attorney.