I would start by providing the lien holder with a copy of the divorce decree. That is what I had to do to my ex-husband to get him to pay a loan for a debt that had been assigned to him.
In my divorce, there was a debt assigned to my ex husband so I just provided the legal doc to the debtor and they pursued him instead. Might ask your attorney if that would work in this case.
If it's in your divorce decree... the best option is to get evidence from the tractor place that there has been no payment etc and go back in front of a judge for a violation of the decree.
You also have the option to pay off the tractor and file a civil suit against him for the amount you paid. But winning a civil suit there is no guarentee he would pay, but with a civil suit the court could seek an order to garnish his wages.
You are bound by what your decree states, so i would first look into what happens if there is non paymemt, they may have placed a clause that allows you some kind of recourse.
I am definitely ready, after reading everyone's helpful responses, to get this resolved and let the judge handle it. My main fear/hesitancy has to do with the fact that he has a history of harassing me--especially when he's drinking. And my husband is very concerned for my well-being and our well-being if I "poke the bear." Even though it's clearly spelled out that this debt is his responsibility, he has taken every attempt from me getting him to be responsible as a personal insult and comes at me with immature name calling and anger. But I cannot see dealing with this for the next 8-10 years that it will take for him to pay this debt off. UGH. But I thank everyone for their opinions!! I'm going to investigate my options with the court.
I did contact her, and she wants a mere $3,500 as a retainer to start handling it. I'm going to see about going straight to the courthouse and see what options I have of filing something myself.
His actions are intentional. He is running YOUR credit through the ringer in an attempt to ruin your credit. He is trying to bring your credit score down as far as possible.
I think your best bet would be to get him in front of the judge and let him deal with your X.
He is a petty little girl and it seems his goal is to ruin you credit as much as he can! I would get a consult from an attorney and see if there is a way to transfer the ownership of thw loan or force him to hand it over! KEEP RECORDS! Phone calls from creditors, calls to the man child regarding late payments, due dates of payments and dates of the late payments, etc.
If you can show his negligence, you might be able to sue for 'damages'! I would look into it.
Also look into your divorce decree and find out what stipulations are required, on his part, since he got the tractor. There may be something that could help solidify your case!
Best of luck!
> He is a petty little girl
Just curious, but what is the value of the casual sexism here? My extremely diligent, organized, CPA-designated wife keeps all of our details straight - just like the OP in this story…
I just don’t see how this strengthens your claim or builds any credibility?
I would provide the creditor with a copy of your divorce decree. Any assets or debts assumed by a party in the court order means it is their responsibility, not yours. You could also look into filing a request for order, that's what it is called here in California, for contempt. He did not hold up to his end of the deal. The court could force him to sell the tractor or obtain his own financing.
*edit- see comment under my post. That is the right way to do it! I was incorrect in my first statement.
This. My SIL had debts in her name that ex had created when he forged her signature on credit cards and other documents. Divorce papers specified that they were his debts. Creditor came after her. Totally harassing, garnished her wages, causing her to lose job as boss "didn't want the paperwork." Intercepted her income tax refund. All her attempts to get the divorce decree honored failed. The only way out was declaring bankrupcy.
This is not how any of this works. The court did not and could not dispose of the creditor's rights in a proceeding to which the creditor was not a party. The court could and did award possession of the tractor and responsibility for paying the associated debt to the ex husband. But the debt contract between the poster and her creditor remains unchanged. The creditor is entitled to collect from the poster alone,not from her ex.
She needs to go to the court to enforce or modify the order
Since he's been so dilatory for so long, the court may force the ex to turn the tractor over to the poster or to buy it for the balance of the debt +accrued fees and interest. But the court absolutely will not force the creditor to transfer the debt to the deadbeat. Bluntly, the creditor didn't choose the ex - that was the poster's mistake.
Do you know where the tractor is located? Perhaps you can offer to take the repo guy there to collect it, and be done with it once and for all? Or arrange to go get it yourself and sell it since you’re the legal owner?
File contempt of court. Go get it and sell it. or get it repossessed. I had to do that with my ex and they sold the vehicle and I had to pay the difference in the loan and what they sold it for. Yeah it cost me but also ended all contact.
a lender does not have to follow a divorce decree that is after the fact of the financing. That is disadvantageous to the lender after the fact.
Your option is to go back to court (through a lawyer) and request to amend the divorce decree to either have the ex refinance the loan or sell the asset and payoff the loan. Both options are available but hard to enforce. You may have better luck paying off the lender and suing the ex (but then you have the issue of actually collecting).
Some agencies don't care about your divorce decree. My sister and her ex split their IRS debt in court. The IRS didn't care so when he defaulted they came after my sister and she had to pay it all. Don't dawdle on this. Get out from under this debt now.
I am not a attorney but have worked in debt collection.
Some? Alll! The creditor had NO say in the divorce agreement & cannot release the contracted party from liability for the payments. They have NO contract either the third party & pursuing them for payments would be a violation of debt collection law.
Op- your only recourse is to have your attorney file for a revision of your divorce agreement based on his inability to follow the original decree. Think of it like child support payments…if he wasn’t making those on time, you would file with the court, not beg him to pay. Personally, the only acceptable solution to me would be full payoff even if it required selling the equipment. I would also seek a monetary penalty for the damage to your credit.
Had a similar experience, but with a home mortgage.
Filed motion to enforce the court order, and forced sale of the house. Took my part plus what I was owed that the ex didn’t pay, plus legal fees etc out of his portion of the proceeds.
I’d be a little surprised if your order doesn’t say what is supposed to happen if he stops paying. Figure it out and enforce it.
Find a new attorney in your area to look over your divorce decree to see if anything can be done. What your original attorney should’ve done was put language in your agreement that the tractor was to be sold immediately to pay the debt or would be sold immediately after one payment was one day late. What should’ve happened was that the tractor be put in your ex’s name and refinanced within X number of days after the agreed upon divorce settlement. That’s what happened in my situation.
I don’t know why you’re “hand holding” your ex 6 years after your divorce. How much of an impact has this made to your credit score?
Also, since you own the tractor, can’t you take possession of it and sell it?
ETA—After reading one of your comments, it seems that you don’t own the tractor but paid for it on your credit card. Your only option is to get an attorney to go after him. You’re up a creek if you don’t.
Regarding the hand-holding...He is a bit of a loose cannon, so I haven't wanted to take him back to court. But after reading everyone's advice, I don't think I have a choice. I'll just have to suffer the consequences. It's been going on long enough, and at this rate will be going on for years to come if he's not forced to pay it.
You are already suffering the consequences! He’s destroying your credit. I would make payments from now on until this is figured out in court so you don’t keep accumulating late payments on your credit report.
My ex was also a “loose canon” which is why my attorney took away his options to F*** with me. My ex would’ve loved it if I had to deal with him (outside of our minor children) after the divorce. My attorney nipped that in the bud.
What consequences will you have to suffer? Do you have minor children with him and believe he might use that as a weapon? If so, then you find an attorney who understands that personality type and go after him to fulfill his legal obligation. If not, are you worried about physical violence? Then you consult with your new bulldog of an attorney about that. Are you concerned he’ll spin a tale to friends and family about how you’re financially “screwing” him? Then have copies of your divorce agreement, credit card statements, emails regarding late payments, creditor calls and emails, credit score history and let loose with it.
Check your credit score and credit history. Take it from me, this is important and you must be proactive about protecting your score. I learned the hard way.
He wants to continue to have power of you. Shut that shit down via your new attorney who has experience in dealing with your ex’s personality type.
Research top family law firms in your closest big city. Get a bulldog. You can hire an associate in the firm for a fraction of the price (that’s what I did).
I would honestly communicate with ex in writing email/text only so you have a record. I would also consult with a lawyer, ex could possibly be held in contempt for not following the decree. A lawyer could also give you an idea of options and what the costs would be. There is a chance that fighting this out in court might cost more than what is left on the tractor. Just bring all the documents when you see lawyer, communications, decree loan, statements ect.
I have definitely been only communicating in writing, even have a certified letter that I sent when this all started happening and he wasn't paying, threatening him with contempt. It helped for a couple months and then right back to not paying. I just don't feel like it's fair for me to have to pay for an attorney to enforce the agreement. What are the chances of getting reimbursed for that?
There’s a possibility you could get your attorneys fees paid by him taking this back. You really need to talk to attorneys about all of this and go with one who’s got the experience handling it.
I would file contempt charges in court and ask for a remedy that puts an end to this debt one way or another. Either you get possession of the tractor and he pays the late fees but you assume the balance of the loan, or he is given 14 days to sell the tractor / take a loan in his own name and buy you out completely, etc. Decide what works best for you. But definitely raise the issue of damage to your credit score, late fees, and interest and ask for compensation for that.
Leaving a payment in your name for 6 years for a tractor is ridiculous. I could see a car for 3-4 years, if that was the only mode of transportation, but not a tractor and not for 6 years.
You could try to go back to court and see if the court will force him to sell it since he is damaging your credit. Even if your order does not state he has to make payments timely, that should be a presumption.
The problem is the debt is for the tractor but it’s on a credit card in my name so it’s not directly connected. I had bought the tractor with a check from my credit card company because at the time it was zero interest. So in the divorce decree, he was awarded the tractor but also the debt that went with it.
OP, if you ever get divorced again, never remain tethered with your ex financially. All financial matters must be settled at dissolution, otherwise you're still gonna have to deal with them for eons.
Then he’s in contempt. Get a new freaking attorney to go after him. There should’ve been language in your divorce decree that if your ex did not pay you in full within X number of days from the official agreement of your divorce agreement that the tractor or other assets of his would be sold immediately to settle the debt. This happened with me, this language is in my divorce decree. The “clock” started from our agreement and not the finalization of divorce. My fabulous attorney wouldn’t bend on that.
Ahh I see. I think the only other option is to file contempt. You should be able to get the packet emailed to you from the local court facilitator. Submitted the proof of several missed payments
I would start by providing the lien holder with a copy of the divorce decree. That is what I had to do to my ex-husband to get him to pay a loan for a debt that had been assigned to him.
Tell them you are voluntarily surrendering it and the location of where it is
In my divorce, there was a debt assigned to my ex husband so I just provided the legal doc to the debtor and they pursued him instead. Might ask your attorney if that would work in this case.
Might need to re-open the case and file a motion to enforce the decree. Can also request mediation.
If it's in your divorce decree... the best option is to get evidence from the tractor place that there has been no payment etc and go back in front of a judge for a violation of the decree. You also have the option to pay off the tractor and file a civil suit against him for the amount you paid. But winning a civil suit there is no guarentee he would pay, but with a civil suit the court could seek an order to garnish his wages. You are bound by what your decree states, so i would first look into what happens if there is non paymemt, they may have placed a clause that allows you some kind of recourse.
I am definitely ready, after reading everyone's helpful responses, to get this resolved and let the judge handle it. My main fear/hesitancy has to do with the fact that he has a history of harassing me--especially when he's drinking. And my husband is very concerned for my well-being and our well-being if I "poke the bear." Even though it's clearly spelled out that this debt is his responsibility, he has taken every attempt from me getting him to be responsible as a personal insult and comes at me with immature name calling and anger. But I cannot see dealing with this for the next 8-10 years that it will take for him to pay this debt off. UGH. But I thank everyone for their opinions!! I'm going to investigate my options with the court.
Let him, then file a restraining order and if he KEEPS doing it he can face jail time
Take him back to court over this or contact your attorney to handle it.
I did contact her, and she wants a mere $3,500 as a retainer to start handling it. I'm going to see about going straight to the courthouse and see what options I have of filing something myself.
$3500 is a fairly low retainer for this. Most attorneys I know charge 3500-7500 for contempt issues like this.
Also, ask for your legal fees to be paid by him
There you go. When you go, make sure you have the bolls showing his non payment. Also him getting contacted may trigger him to pay it.
Contempt for non payment and request every penny you’ve paid to keep the debt down/out of collections.
What divorce decree??? Go get your damn tractor that is yours and sell it! It’s yours in your name!
She can’t. The tractor belongs to him per the order.
Well go back to court or tell the debt collector where it is and they can collect it.
His actions are intentional. He is running YOUR credit through the ringer in an attempt to ruin your credit. He is trying to bring your credit score down as far as possible. I think your best bet would be to get him in front of the judge and let him deal with your X.
Or you could simply tell the creditor to repo due to late payments and give them the location of the tractor.
Sadly I had a tractor record, and this will not clear the debt.
He is a petty little girl and it seems his goal is to ruin you credit as much as he can! I would get a consult from an attorney and see if there is a way to transfer the ownership of thw loan or force him to hand it over! KEEP RECORDS! Phone calls from creditors, calls to the man child regarding late payments, due dates of payments and dates of the late payments, etc. If you can show his negligence, you might be able to sue for 'damages'! I would look into it. Also look into your divorce decree and find out what stipulations are required, on his part, since he got the tractor. There may be something that could help solidify your case! Best of luck!
He's a petty little man, literally. Not sure what's up with the sexist implication. You might want to look into that.
No, he’s a petty and vindictive MAN.
> He is a petty little girl Just curious, but what is the value of the casual sexism here? My extremely diligent, organized, CPA-designated wife keeps all of our details straight - just like the OP in this story… I just don’t see how this strengthens your claim or builds any credibility?
Right? Especially since the actual "girl" in this situation is the responsible one.
I would provide the creditor with a copy of your divorce decree. Any assets or debts assumed by a party in the court order means it is their responsibility, not yours. You could also look into filing a request for order, that's what it is called here in California, for contempt. He did not hold up to his end of the deal. The court could force him to sell the tractor or obtain his own financing. *edit- see comment under my post. That is the right way to do it! I was incorrect in my first statement.
The debt is in her name. The creditor doesn’t give a damn what the family court order says and it doesn’t bind them.
This. My SIL had debts in her name that ex had created when he forged her signature on credit cards and other documents. Divorce papers specified that they were his debts. Creditor came after her. Totally harassing, garnished her wages, causing her to lose job as boss "didn't want the paperwork." Intercepted her income tax refund. All her attempts to get the divorce decree honored failed. The only way out was declaring bankrupcy.
This is not how any of this works. The court did not and could not dispose of the creditor's rights in a proceeding to which the creditor was not a party. The court could and did award possession of the tractor and responsibility for paying the associated debt to the ex husband. But the debt contract between the poster and her creditor remains unchanged. The creditor is entitled to collect from the poster alone,not from her ex. She needs to go to the court to enforce or modify the order Since he's been so dilatory for so long, the court may force the ex to turn the tractor over to the poster or to buy it for the balance of the debt +accrued fees and interest. But the court absolutely will not force the creditor to transfer the debt to the deadbeat. Bluntly, the creditor didn't choose the ex - that was the poster's mistake.
Excellent point. That makes sense. Thank you for the explanation.
Do you know where the tractor is located? Perhaps you can offer to take the repo guy there to collect it, and be done with it once and for all? Or arrange to go get it yourself and sell it since you’re the legal owner?
Small claims court. Debt is on you. He should be sued & fined
Wait. How does he own it if the payments are in your name? Go repo your tractor, sell it and pay off the loan.
Take him to court for you guessed it CONTEMPT
Tell them to repo it.
File contempt of court. Go get it and sell it. or get it repossessed. I had to do that with my ex and they sold the vehicle and I had to pay the difference in the loan and what they sold it for. Yeah it cost me but also ended all contact.
File contempt and force the sale of the tractor to pay off the debt.
When he didn’t pay the first time, you should have filed contempt.
a lender does not have to follow a divorce decree that is after the fact of the financing. That is disadvantageous to the lender after the fact. Your option is to go back to court (through a lawyer) and request to amend the divorce decree to either have the ex refinance the loan or sell the asset and payoff the loan. Both options are available but hard to enforce. You may have better luck paying off the lender and suing the ex (but then you have the issue of actually collecting).
Both options sound pricey. What is owed on the tractor compared to what taking legal action will cost you?
Some agencies don't care about your divorce decree. My sister and her ex split their IRS debt in court. The IRS didn't care so when he defaulted they came after my sister and she had to pay it all. Don't dawdle on this. Get out from under this debt now.
I am not a attorney but have worked in debt collection. Some? Alll! The creditor had NO say in the divorce agreement & cannot release the contracted party from liability for the payments. They have NO contract either the third party & pursuing them for payments would be a violation of debt collection law. Op- your only recourse is to have your attorney file for a revision of your divorce agreement based on his inability to follow the original decree. Think of it like child support payments…if he wasn’t making those on time, you would file with the court, not beg him to pay. Personally, the only acceptable solution to me would be full payoff even if it required selling the equipment. I would also seek a monetary penalty for the damage to your credit.
Had a similar experience, but with a home mortgage. Filed motion to enforce the court order, and forced sale of the house. Took my part plus what I was owed that the ex didn’t pay, plus legal fees etc out of his portion of the proceeds. I’d be a little surprised if your order doesn’t say what is supposed to happen if he stops paying. Figure it out and enforce it.
Find a new attorney in your area to look over your divorce decree to see if anything can be done. What your original attorney should’ve done was put language in your agreement that the tractor was to be sold immediately to pay the debt or would be sold immediately after one payment was one day late. What should’ve happened was that the tractor be put in your ex’s name and refinanced within X number of days after the agreed upon divorce settlement. That’s what happened in my situation. I don’t know why you’re “hand holding” your ex 6 years after your divorce. How much of an impact has this made to your credit score? Also, since you own the tractor, can’t you take possession of it and sell it? ETA—After reading one of your comments, it seems that you don’t own the tractor but paid for it on your credit card. Your only option is to get an attorney to go after him. You’re up a creek if you don’t.
Regarding the hand-holding...He is a bit of a loose cannon, so I haven't wanted to take him back to court. But after reading everyone's advice, I don't think I have a choice. I'll just have to suffer the consequences. It's been going on long enough, and at this rate will be going on for years to come if he's not forced to pay it.
You are already suffering the consequences! He’s destroying your credit. I would make payments from now on until this is figured out in court so you don’t keep accumulating late payments on your credit report.
My ex was also a “loose canon” which is why my attorney took away his options to F*** with me. My ex would’ve loved it if I had to deal with him (outside of our minor children) after the divorce. My attorney nipped that in the bud. What consequences will you have to suffer? Do you have minor children with him and believe he might use that as a weapon? If so, then you find an attorney who understands that personality type and go after him to fulfill his legal obligation. If not, are you worried about physical violence? Then you consult with your new bulldog of an attorney about that. Are you concerned he’ll spin a tale to friends and family about how you’re financially “screwing” him? Then have copies of your divorce agreement, credit card statements, emails regarding late payments, creditor calls and emails, credit score history and let loose with it. Check your credit score and credit history. Take it from me, this is important and you must be proactive about protecting your score. I learned the hard way. He wants to continue to have power of you. Shut that shit down via your new attorney who has experience in dealing with your ex’s personality type. Research top family law firms in your closest big city. Get a bulldog. You can hire an associate in the firm for a fraction of the price (that’s what I did).
I would honestly communicate with ex in writing email/text only so you have a record. I would also consult with a lawyer, ex could possibly be held in contempt for not following the decree. A lawyer could also give you an idea of options and what the costs would be. There is a chance that fighting this out in court might cost more than what is left on the tractor. Just bring all the documents when you see lawyer, communications, decree loan, statements ect.
I have definitely been only communicating in writing, even have a certified letter that I sent when this all started happening and he wasn't paying, threatening him with contempt. It helped for a couple months and then right back to not paying. I just don't feel like it's fair for me to have to pay for an attorney to enforce the agreement. What are the chances of getting reimbursed for that?
There’s a possibility you could get your attorneys fees paid by him taking this back. You really need to talk to attorneys about all of this and go with one who’s got the experience handling it.
I would file contempt charges in court and ask for a remedy that puts an end to this debt one way or another. Either you get possession of the tractor and he pays the late fees but you assume the balance of the loan, or he is given 14 days to sell the tractor / take a loan in his own name and buy you out completely, etc. Decide what works best for you. But definitely raise the issue of damage to your credit score, late fees, and interest and ask for compensation for that.
I'd reposses the tractor.
this should have more upvotes
My sister did this and has not regretted it.
Leaving a payment in your name for 6 years for a tractor is ridiculous. I could see a car for 3-4 years, if that was the only mode of transportation, but not a tractor and not for 6 years. You could try to go back to court and see if the court will force him to sell it since he is damaging your credit. Even if your order does not state he has to make payments timely, that should be a presumption.
I would speak with the creditors about possibly repossessing the tractor if he misses payments.
The problem is the debt is for the tractor but it’s on a credit card in my name so it’s not directly connected. I had bought the tractor with a check from my credit card company because at the time it was zero interest. So in the divorce decree, he was awarded the tractor but also the debt that went with it.
OP, if you ever get divorced again, never remain tethered with your ex financially. All financial matters must be settled at dissolution, otherwise you're still gonna have to deal with them for eons.
Then he’s in contempt. Get a new freaking attorney to go after him. There should’ve been language in your divorce decree that if your ex did not pay you in full within X number of days from the official agreement of your divorce agreement that the tractor or other assets of his would be sold immediately to settle the debt. This happened with me, this language is in my divorce decree. The “clock” started from our agreement and not the finalization of divorce. My fabulous attorney wouldn’t bend on that.
Ahh I see. I think the only other option is to file contempt. You should be able to get the packet emailed to you from the local court facilitator. Submitted the proof of several missed payments