Portland, OR asked in Bankruptcy, Identity Theft and Small Claims for Oregon

Q: What can my fiance do about the debt his ex left him with?

My fiance lived with an ex girlfriend (they were never married) that he gave money to to cover their rent. She never made the payments and they didn't get evicted since this was during covid. Now they both have a 15k collection which has got us denied at other apartments. We saw on credit karma that payments are being made which we assume she is making. However we were curious what legal things we could do to get this off our record, and hold her account/responsible to that collection.

2 Lawyer Answers

A: He can make a motion to hold her in contempt in their divorce case for failure to pay pursuant to the MSA.

James L. Arrasmith
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Answered

A: Your fiancé may want to start by gathering evidence of his payments to his ex for the rent to establish a clear history of financial transactions. Then, he can reach out to the collection agency to dispute the debt, providing them with the evidence of his payments and explaining the situation. In parallel, he can consult with an attorney to explore potential legal actions to hold his ex solely responsible for the debt, which may include suing her in court to establish her sole responsibility for the debt based on the understanding they had when he was giving her money for the rent.

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