My ex-husband is asking me to pay part of our credit card debt but I don't think I am liable for any of it, or at least not much

These comments are made for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship exists between us.

It appears you are not liable for the Amex account under the order. However, if he doesn't pay on time, your credit record will also suffer. If that happens you could take him back to court and ask that he be held in contempt for not paying as ordered.

While I do not have a copy of your divorce decree to review, based on the wording you provided, you have no obligation to pay the American Express debt, as it relates to the division of debts as between you and your ex-husband. However, since you are a co-signer on that debt, if your husband fails to pay that debt timely, the creditor will look to you to satisfy his obligation. Unfortunately, while there is an order in your divorce that says you don't have any responsibility to pay this obligation, that decree is between you and your ex-husband only. The creditor, in this case American Express, does not have to follow the term of your divorce decree - they need only follow the terms of their credit agreement with you. If those terms allow them to seek full payment from the co-signer if the primary party defaults (and I will bet it says exactly that), they can and will seek repayment from you. If you don't pay it, and you are tied to that obligation as a co-signer, your credit can be negatively affected (even though this is technically your ex-husband's sole debt).

However, you are not without remedies. In your case, you would file a Motion to Enforce and/or a Contempt action against your ex-husband for violating the terms of the divorce decree. It will not be an immediate resolution of your problems with American Express, but it can be resolved with time.

Hope that helps. If you have any further questions, feel free to call me at 214-707-0660. Good luck!