How canI prove that my son is responsible for a debt and not me?
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How canI prove that my son is responsible for a debt and not me?
A collection agency is suing me. They think thatI incurred a debt when it was actually a medical bill for my son with the same name(Jr) and address. I’ve been to a hearing and pretrial. I have proof it’s not me (bills that have his birth date on them; he is 24). I now have a court date. Their lawyer offerred to settle for 90% of the bill ($204), but I won’t do it. Is there something that I can submit to the court saying it is not me? My son now resides out-of-state.
Asked on September 30, 2010 under Bankruptcy Law, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
It seems like you have the evidence you would need: your own testimony and bills that list a DOB that's not yours. If there's a trial, that's the sort of information you'd provide. You may wish to consider whether it would be worth settling, though--even w/strong evidence on your side, no trial is ever 100% certain; there are also various monetary and time costs assocated with going to court. If you could get your son to in turn reimburse you for all or most of the sum, it may be worth paying $204 to put an end to this, have the matter closed, and not need to worry about a trial, further collections action, and/or a negative impact on your credit rating. It's hard to believe it's even worth it for them to pursue $204 to trial; it may be worth it to you to pay it to make it go away.
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