How do i sue my ex for 6500.00 on something he should of paid and i got stuck with?

Question

when married to my ex i cosigned for an auto loan. he did not pay and had the vehicle repossed. we are now divorced and in the divorce decreed it stated that he was liabel to pay and not me. they are now coming after me for the money since he is ignoring it. plus my credit is being hurt. i was going to pay it off to fix my credit but want to know how i can sue him and have a judgement placed on his credit. plus in my divorce decree it states that 60 days in jail for not abiding by it. i am sick of him getting away with everything he does wrong because people always seem to pick up his messes. i want my credit fixed but still want his messed up. how can i sue him and have him in jail for 60 days to think of all the messes he has made and maybe realize it is time to grow up. can anyone please help.

Answer 1

Lawyer fees and court cost will probably be more expensive than the $6500 but it could be worth it if you win and finally not let him get away with something.  If you want to do it then hire a lawyer and he should know how to go about the process.

Answer 2

You can safely ignore Brother Otter's advice....as Spiff says divorce judgments do not remove YOU from your legal obligation to pay the debt.  

And I always giggle when people say to call the BBB about someone....waste of time.

I don't know what state you are in, and how much force the divorce consent has...but I would start there.  The threat of 60 day jail is much stronger then threatening to hurt their credit.  Since you already have the consent it cuts down on the legal battle.

You can file small claims, but again you are going to have to figure out how to collect.  If the ex has a job you can garnish the wages.  

In your case, my advice is to contact the divorce lawyer and see what he can do first.

Answer 3

you cosigned - you have no case

Answer 4

Auto finance is what I do for a living and as far as your lender is concerned they could care less what your divorce decree says.

And no matter what anyone says they are not bound by it believe me I have seen several people try and they never win.

What you will have to do is take your ex-husband back to court for violating the order of the court and sue him.

They can place a judgment on him and garnish his wages (if your State allows it), attach bank accounts and file liens on any other property he may own.

This will not help your credit but it will sure mess up his.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Good advice, contact your divorce, or another attorney to see what your options are.

Answer 6

You can do it yourself - file a law suit in small claims court for the $6,500.

Answer 7

The collection agents will harrass anyone that doesn't beat off their phone calls.

You have a decree from the judge that says he's responsible for the debt.  That supercedes your having cosigned the loan.  Send the debt holder and the collection agency a notarized copy of the decree with the clause about the vehicle highlighted.  Advise that if they report you to the credit bureau, you'll file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

If they file a bad report with the credit bureau, contest it.  Again, send an official copy of the judge's decree.  And of course, lodge a complaint with the BBB.

You're absolutely correct - as long as others continue to clean up his messes, your ex will very likely continue to make them.

Yes, you could pay the debt and shut down the collection problems.  At that point, you're out the money.  You could take the matter up with Small Claims Court, but even if you do get a favorable judgement then you become your own collection agent.

Answer 8

Contact your divorce lawyer to see what you can do.