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Can my property be taken as a payment for a relative's loans?

Personal Finance & Money Asked by Kaixzer on August 8, 2021

My aunt went to several loans to which she isn’t capable of paying as of now. Now, the lenders are visiting our house and trying to find her and she currently lives in the same residence with me, additionally I have been failing to contact her for a while now . I come to ask if the lender can also take my property as payment for her loans for that is something that I wouldn’t want to happen.

2 Answers

The laws regarding debt collection vary by country, and even by local jurisdiction. In addition during the current health crisis there may be additional protections.

Now regarding your responsibility:

If you and your aunt are co-signers on a debt you are also responsible for the debt.

If you and your aunt are both on the credit card, you are both responsible for the debt.

If you are using your aunts car, and the car is collateral for a debt, then you could lose access to the car if it is repossessed, even if you aren't a cosigner.

she currently lives in the same residence with me

If the place you live is collateral for a loan she has, then you might not be able to live there anymore. If she is renting the place, and you are on that same lease you are also responsible for the lease payment. If you aren't on the lease, but she is, you could be evicted.

Now, the lenders are visiting our house and trying to find her and she currently lives in the same residence with me, additionally I have been failing to contact her for a while now .

What they can do to contact her, and what they can say to you is governed by the laws in your area. Even if they stay within the bounds of the law, they want your help to get rid of the debt. They want you to talk to her. They would also love it if you would pay money against the debt even if you don't have to.

Local law also covers what happens if your aunt passes away. In some places the relatives can also inherit the debts, on other places they don't.

Answered by mhoran_psprep on August 8, 2021

I guess it comes down to three questions to me, considering this is a family member you're speaking of:

  1. How badly do you want to get rid of the debt collectors coming to your home?

  2. How much do you love your aunt?

  3. How large is the debt?

ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS:

  1. Since the house you live in is the only address the debt collectors have for contacting your aunt (since she listed it as her place of residence too), you can count on them continuing to visit your home until the matter is settled, so if you don't want them constantly at your house then you can pay the debt.

  2. If you love your aunt enough to keep her out of trouble with the debt collectors, you can choose to pay the debt, or at least make payment arrangements to satisfy the debt collectors until or unless you can get ahold of your aunt to settle it with her. Sometimes for the sake of family we'll do things we wouldn't do for anyone else, and this might be one of those situations.

  3. If the debt isn't too large then it might be easiest for you to pay it so that the whole matter is settled and your life can go back to normal. Then, you can always talk to your aunt and come up with an arrangement with her to repay you what you had to spend to settle the debt.

These things are never easy, especially when it comes to family. I don't know the specific debt collection laws in your country, but the questions and answers I put here can apply to anyone in any country, because they're just common sense ways to look at your situation. The fact of the matter is, your aunt made a debt with people who are entitled to collect it, and even if they can't do anything directly to you (like evicting you or forcing you to pay the debt), they can still make your life miserable (such as by coming to your house all the time, as long as they aren't breaking your country's laws on how they go about it) until or unless they get paid. Much of this is going to depend on how you choose to handle it. To me, if the debt is small enough that it makes more sense to pay it and be done with dealing with the debt collectors, I'd probably go that route, but that's just me.

Answered by RiverNet on August 8, 2021

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