Yes and No.
In certain cases, yes, you can be forced to pay someone else’s debts. If your spouse, for example, obtains a necessity of life (food, clothing or medical care) and cannot pay for it, you can be forced to pay for your spouse’s debt. Likewise, you can also be forced to pay for certain debts, such as medical care, for your minor child.
If you act as guarantor or co-sign an obligation with a primary debtor, then yes, you will also be liable on that debt obligation you co-signed. It doesn’t matter that you were the best of friends when you co-signed the debt but now are no longer in good terms with the debtor. It doesn’t matter what your current relationship is with the primary debtor. The creditor can run after you and force you to pay the full balance of an obligation you co-sign with someone else.
A common situation for this would be the case of husbands and wives who co-sign a joint obligation, say, a credit card. If the spouses should divorce each other later on, each of them would still be fully liable on the credit card obligation. The fact that the wife was the only one who used the credit card; or, that the wife was the only one who signed the credit card authorization receipt, does not matter. As far as the creditor is concerned, the husband can still be forced to pay the full balance of the obligation.
Likewise, in cases where you co-sign for a primary debtor and that primary debtor declares bankruptcy, you will still be liable for the full debt. In this situation, the debtor who declares bankruptcy may no longer be liable on that debt. The creditor can no longer collect or sue the primary debtor, however, you as the co-signer or guarantor still remains obligated to pay for that debt. Thus, it is very important for you to be aware that when you co-sign an obligation, you may end up having to pay for someone else’s debt even though that someone else may no longer be obligated to pay for it.
Other than the situations mentioned above, no, you may not be forced to pay for someone else’s debts. Generally, you cannot be liable for an obligation wherein you have not signed an agreement to do so. However, there may still be certain exceptions such as: taxes, court fines, and, child support, where you may be liable even if you have not signed that agreement to do so as these obligations are imposed by law.
(DISCLAIMER: material presented above is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended as professional advice and should not be construed as such. Rey Tancinco is a partner at Tancinco Law Offices, a professional corporation with offices in San Francisco, Vallejo, and Manila. The law office website is at: tancinco.weareph.com/old. Rey Tancinco can be contacted at (800) 999-9096 or (415) 397-0808 or via email at: attyrey@tancinco.com
