prepaid credit cards

[Bob Haller]

A friend of mine had a credit disaster with his wife, the nearly got divorced after she ran up 70 grand in charges, over the limit and late fees. he managed after 8 years to get out of this debt its all zero. his wife cant be trusted with a card. he warned her even try to get a card and we are divorced.

but he would like to get a PREPAID card for convenience traveling and such.

Anyone use these? He wants something thats easy to recharge and has a minium of fees. locally giant eagle has them and he would get fuel perks points, for free gasoline.

but the fees are a killer. 5 bucks a month plus X $ to recharge, wouldnt be bad but card is mostly for emergencies and travel.

I suggested a debit card on his bank account, he said no doesnt trust them either

he doesnt have internet access, tried to loan him a computer and his NOT INTERESTED

He says he is too busy, frankly I think he fears getting addicted so I am his on line research person!

 

[charper1]

Although I still think a low interest card from a major holder/bank is still a better option; I do see what his issue is. Be sure to ask him what hotel, car and airline services he generally uses as some not only will no longer take check/debit cards, but that would almost certainly mean no "pre-paid" cards. So if it will not be widely accepted there would be no use paying the fees to have it. I would suggest he call one of his regular card holders and ask them for some sort of very restrictive cards like they give to kids; most offer them.

 

[minorthr]

Well his first mistake was not divorcing her after she ran up 70k in debt. And he isnt going to be able to use a prepaid credit card to rent a car or check into a hotel. I fI was him I would get the prepaid and give it to the wife and get a regular credit card in his name just in case he needs it.

 

[joedekock]

If you want you an even get a normal credit card and ask them to keep the limit at what he wants. We have a discover card that we never use because we have no debt, and every year like clock work, they up the credit limit another $2000. Every time I have to call and ask them to Set it back to $3000. We felt like $3000 was a limit that we can use when we NEED to, and also pay off quickly if we ever do use it.

 

[Stargazer]

I would track all credit cards very carefully to make sure it did not reach 70,000 to begin with and put a limit on any card someone else would have, no more than they need for the basics.

 

[hdtvtechno]

Have you ever tried Visabuxx

 

[charper1]

I guess it also stands as common sense that if you do not list her as an authorised user that problem is solved no matter what the limit is.

Have you ever tried Visabuxx

These won't work for travel, car, reservations either, so he would be out of luck on that too.

 

[thiggin2]

Why not just get a Secured Credit Card. It works just like a normal credit card but you have money in the card account to be able to use it. If you put in $200 I think they give you like $400 limit.

 

[LonghornXP]

I would just get a credit card in his name only and not make the "wife" an authorized user. If she used it and I found out I would be divorced so fast along with filing a police report for stealing my credit card. After getting myself out of debt and telling my wife to "not" use this card I wouldn't feel bad at all about sending her azz to jail. I know my father would send my azz to jail if I ever stold from him. Heck I even know his bankcard PIN number and he knows it but he also knows I'd never steal from him.

I never understood why married people get joint cards to begin with. My parents have two credit cards (one card in my mothers name only and the other is my fathers name only) and they just signed a contract with a laywer that stated who should pay who. This was in the early days of their marriage but later on they got rid of the contract but still kept the credit cards seperate. This would allow both my parents to divorce their debts if you will. Joint credit card debt kills the most marriages in this country because it always ends up that one party or the other screws it up and hurts both of them. Also not getting married also avoids my risks if you catch my drift.

 

[dragon002]

that wouldnt work here in pa, we are a community property state.

your assets are hers and hers are yours , same as debts.

 

[newsposter]

that wouldnt work here in pa, we are a community property state.

your assets are hers and hers are yours , same as debts.

I'm pretty sure you are wrong. I'd have to ask someone to confirm it (they filed bankruptcy a while ago and i forget all the details and Im not sure even today I want to drag that back up with them) but if you run up credit cards in your name only, I'm pretty sure you can file BK ONLY and not involve your spouse at all unless their name is on the debt.

I've just never heard of PA referred to as a community property state and yes, I even read the back of credit card statements occasionally.

http://www.fairmark.com/spousal/comprop.htm
Special rules apply to spousal property and income in the community property states:

* Arizona
* California
* Idaho
* Louisiana
* Nevada
* New Mexico
* Texas
* Washington
* Wisconsin

http://www.brettweiss.com/bankruptcy/FAQ/15 Bankruptcy Myths.htm#Myth_7:

Myth 7: If You're Married, Both You and Your Spouse Have to File for Bankruptcy

Not true. In cases where both husband and wife have a lot of debt, it makes sense and saves money for them to both file....but it is never a requirement. In fact, most of the cases we file where our client is married, only one spouse files. And if you don't have any joint debt, your filing will have no impact on your spouse's credit.

 

[dragon002]

try this one on, me ad the wife split in 2000, we didn't get divorced until 2005. in 2002 she bought a model year closeout ranger for 16,000 , they repo'd it in 2003. you think this isn't on my credit also?? wrong. dude if you are splitting up, don't be in pa! there isn't even legal separation in this state!they can run up a lot of bills and ruin your credit right along with theirs. in pa , until the decree goes to the courthouse with BOTH signatures on it, you are on the hook.

 

[newsposter]

You are saying that your name wasn't on the loan or title and they still gave you bad marks on your credit report from that loan? I'm positive that's not legal. You must have had a bad attorney. If every debt was legally husband and wife's property even without title, there would be no need to worry how you legally title ANYTHING! Simply one name would suffice and by definition during that period of marriage there would be, and never could be, any disagreement on who was responsible for what debt. All your homes/creditcards/bank accounts would all be joint and no one could ever fight about it.

We all know that's not true. Banks have very strict policies that if your name isn't on the account, no way will you be able to get money out. Same with a car title. If your name isn't on it, you cant just go and sell your wife's car.

 

[SimpleSimon]

I'm positive that's not legal.

And I'm positive you're wrong.

It varies by state.

 

[Yota86]

In the state of Missouri, as per Missouri Revised Statutes, Chapter 452, Section 452.330,
"3. All property acquired by either spouse subsequent to the marriage and prior to a decree of legal separation or dissolution of marriage is presumed to be marital property regardless of whether title is held individually or by the spouses in some form of co-ownership such as joint tenancy, tenancy in common, tenancy by the entirety, and community property. The presumption of marital property is overcome by a showing that the property was acquired by a method listed in subsection 2 of this section ("Missouri").

"Missouri Revised Statutes." Chapter 452 Dissolution of Marriage, Divorce, Alimony and Separate Maintenance Section 452.330. 20 March 2006. 28 August 2005. http://www.moga.state.mo.us/statutes/C400-499/4520000330.HTM

 

[newsposter]

And I'm positive you're wrong.

It varies by state.

dragons posting was about PA ...citiations from other states are irrelevant

and I am quite positive that if your spouses name is not on your house/car title or loan, they will NOT be able to report that spouse as good/bad on your credit report nor hold them liable for it. Also no courthouse would EVER transfer a deed if a wife requested it but only the husbands name was on the deed. He would have to sign.

think about it. If title didn't matter and everything was legally held by both spouses regardless of what words were on paper, there would be NO need for people to EVER add/delete a spouses name in events of divorce/beneficiaries (only your current wife would count right? that's an easily provable fact) and other events. Also if all assets/liabilities are both of yours, but you have bank accounts, mutual funds/loans etc in your name only but both are LEGALLY yours, why can't I go into a bank and take out funds in ONLY my wife's name? Or why can't I call up Vanguard and even ask basic questions about her billions in assets there? Why can't I call up and talk about her car loan in her name only? it's because the assets are only HERS not mine.

My point is, there are reasons why things like loan agreements/titles/deeds are in both names. And thats so that both people legally own them. I simply will never believe that if i go out and buy a car under MY name only, then default the next day, that they will go after my wife or enter that as deficient on her credit report. I think the laywers would have a field day if that happened.

PA is not a community property state as dragon said...period...that's easily checked by any google search.

And if the bad loan is on dragons credit report but he never owned the car nor signed for it, I'd say challenge your credit report and you will win because they can't prove it's your debt! heck you can file bankruptcy separately if debts are only in ONE spouses name. People do that all the time. it wouldn't be possible if both people legally owned everything or were commonly responsible for all debts. Think about it.

 

[GaryPen]

"Pre-paid credit"?

George Carlin might say that sounds a lot like "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence".

 

[newsposter]

or parking on a driveway

 

[charper1]

Per PA law office of Linda A. Kerns

In Pennsylvania, even though not a community property state, marital debt includes any debt incurred during the marriage, regardless of how titled. There can be exceptions and limitations. If you feel that certain debt should not be marital, begin to gather documentation, such as statements documenting what was purchased. As a drastic example, if all of the credit card debt is due to one spouse’ gambling habit, a court may not consider that debt marital and instead ask the spouse who is responsible for incurring the debt to repay it.

 

[newsposter]

Per PA law office of Linda A. Kerns

In Pennsylvania, even though not a community property state, marital debt includes any debt incurred during the marriage, regardless of how titled. There can be exceptions and limitations. If you feel that certain debt should not be marital, begin to gather documentation, such as statements documenting what was purchased. As a drastic example, if all of the credit card debt is due to one spouse’ gambling habit, a court may not consider that debt marital and instead ask the spouse who is responsible for incurring the debt to repay it.

Assuming that person is correct, then it appears that indeed, if a wife is living apart from a husband, obtains a vehicle under her name /credit only, that the husband will not be held liable for it as it isn't his, even in appearance much less fact. I know the law is messed up in some areas but I was pretty sure there were clearly defined titles of assets and debts.