I had just found out that my wife had opened a credit card account in my name, of which I obviously had no idea of, nor did I give her permission to do so, she also listed herself as one authorized user. Can I be held responsible for that? I found out that this credit card account goes directly to her email, no bills delivered via mail. Is this legal? Can I use this in a divorce in my favor? I have also just found out that she has over $10,000 in credit card debt herself, that is in collection. Help me please.
In Illinois while you are married, your spouse has the apparent authority under principle agent law to open an account in names together. The answers to the other questions you ask depend on lots of factors you do not outline.
See a family law lawyer if you are considering dissolution of marriage.
I disagree that a spouse has apparent authority in this situation. Whether she had authority depends on all of the facts, and based on your description of the facts she committed identity theft. Unfortunately, a lot of the identity theft cases we see involve family members. In a normal identity theft situation, you should file a financial identity theft police report, and then send that along with a dispute to the credit card company and the three major credit bureaus. The credit card company will likely have a fraud affidavit they want you to complete. They are likely to put up more of a fight because you were married, and the bills probably went to your address, but if you are persistent, you should be able to get it our of your name and off your credit reports. You also have a right to obtain copies of the application and statements, as a victim of identity theft. You should request those documents as they may assist you in proving you were not the actual applicant. Whether or not you want to file a police report against your wife is a personal matter, but the credit card companies are far more likely to take your name off the account if you do. Many will refuse to consider your dispute without a police report in this type of situation. The FTC and the Illinois Attorney General's web sites both have good information for identity theft victims. If your disputes don't work, you should contact an attorney who specializes in consumer law. As far as the other credit card debt, if it is in her name only, you are not personally liable for it.
This question and the answers posted have the makings for a good legal debate, but I am not sure that the answer makes a difference.
The Family Expense Act makes both spouses liable for the expenses of the family. So, let's assume that you can get the credit card transferred into your wife's name, which sounds unlikely based upon the facts your presented because she would have to be approved. Now it is a debt of your wife's and not yours, but if the items purchased were "family expenses" then you are still on the hook either way - either directly under the credit card agreement or indirectly under the Family Expense Act.
Good Luck.
Jeffrey Whitcomb
Whitcomb Law Firm, Ltd.
www.whitcomblawfirm.com
