Hello,   My name is Wilson. I was divorced in 2001. My ex-wife at that time had a "Chase" credit card.

Hello,   My name is Wilson. I was divorced in 2001. My ex-wife at that time had a "Chase" credit card.

In the divorce decree I was held harmless to that debt. She re-married a year later.   In 2004, I checked my credit report and found this card on it for $5,000.00. At that time, I filled out a form requesting to delete my name from the "joint" account, and was denied. I dont have a card for this account and never did. She started the account on her own without my knowledge.   Today I applied for a home equity loan and found out that this "Chase" card is up to $9,000.00.   PLEASE HELP!!! Is there anything I can do to fix this problem? I dont see how I can be responsible for her and her husbands spending.   Thanks in advance for your help.

CreditCard.org OPINION (seek legal counsel on your own before taking any action):
Being held harmless for the debt MIGHT have meant that the debt was zero.  Sometimes (and I repeat "sometimes") credit contracts entered into during marriage are binding as a joint depending on the state you live in).  Which state do you live in? Now some bad news.  If you applied for this account as a joint account and didn't close the account, the joint account is still open.

It seems that you are on record with Chase for having a joint account. This is tough to dispute unless you can prove that your ex-wife did something clearly deceptive.

I'd recommend finding out what the total credit line is for this card as there might be more damage on the way.  I saw this one case where the ex-husband who was on record for the account (and couldn't get off) started charging on the card as well.  I don't recommend this but your end goal should be to close ALL the accounts out.  Your interim goal should be to ask your divorce attorney to clarify ownership of the chase credit card and to gain account separation.  Your last goal should be minimize damages.