QUESTION ABOUT LIABILITY FOR A DEBT

[manologirl]

My husband received a bill from an attorney representing an animal hospital.  He has never stepped foot in this business nor procured their services.  His assumption is that his ex-wife took their pet there and never informed him of the bill.

I know that he would be responsible for the bill if this was a medical bill for their children regardless if he procured the service or not.

The date of the bill is when they were separated, not divorced.  She must have put this bill in his name.  

1.  Does he have any legal liability?  

2.  Furthermore, how can a business put a bill in the name of another adult when an adult over the age of consent is procuring the service?

3.  If he did not sign for services, can he be held liable?

  The state in question is Kansas if that is helpful.

[socrateaser]

>1.  Does he have any legal liability?  

If you have a final judgment of divorce, and all of your property and liabilities were distributed as part of that judgment, and the attorney knew of the existence of the dispute and didn't request resolution of the debt from the court, then that would bar the attorney's collection, on grounds of collateral estoppel.

If not, then, upon legal separation, generally defined as the moment when the parties are physically separated, and one spouse has communicated to the other the intent that the marriage end, spouses are no longer liable for each other's debts, except for the necessities of life (food, shelter, clothing, urgent medical, etc.).

There are lots of possible exceptions, dependent upon the specific facts under which a debt arises, and every State has different laws that can modify a separated spouse's common law duty to the other spouse.

What I would do, is write the attorney and tell him/her that you were permanently separated at the time that this debt was incurred, and that if he/she wants you to consider its validity, then you request that he/she provide you with the case and statutory law and the legal argument upon which he/she asserts in "good faith" (magic words), imposes a duty on you to pay the bill.

More than likely the attorney will read your letter and decide it isn't worth the hassle. If not, then you'll get a response, and hopefully the attorney will do your homework for you. If so, then I would have a better idea from the response of whether this is a "hail mary" by the lawyer, or something that he/she knows can be collected under KS law.




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>2.  Furthermore, how can a business put a bill in the name of
>another adult when an adult over the age of consent is
>procuring the service?
>
>3.  If he did not sign for services, can he be held liable?
>
>  The state in question is Kansas if that is helpful.
>
>
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