Under Michigan debt collection laws is a husband liable for credit card debt that was fraudulently put on my cards

I do not practice in Michigan. When was the last time you made a payment on these cards? If you haven't made any payments in 5 years, then you could be approaching the statute of limitations. You are likely to be held liable for the accounts because they bear your name unless you can show an unauthorized person made the charges. You should send a letter (certified mail) disputing the debt and demanding verification. They must provide documents to prove the debt upon request. If they can't, then you're in good shape. They can't sue and win without those documents.

In follow up to the other response you received, the applicable statute of limitations is 6 years.

If the charges were truly not authorized, then you are not liable for them. However, it would be necessary to determine whether your wife was authorized to used the card. If not, you should not be liable for them.

One option is for you to wait for the card issuers or current holders of the claims to sue. You could then defend in court. Watch out for papers indicating that the matter has been submitted to an arbitration body such as the National Arbitration Forum. You may need to respond to the commencement of arbitration proceedings.

You should consult with a lawyer to discuss the specific facts.

If it is 5 years since your wife has been gone, there is a good chance the statute of limitations has run. But, that does not mean tthat you are safe from the debt collectors on this account, even if the statute of limitations has run. Be aware that, even though the statue of limitations may have run, debt collectors tend to be extremely aggressive. They CAN and DO sue debtors over time barred debts (where the limitations period has run) and they misrepresent the liability. Most consumers have no idea how to handle this situation, and so the creditor winds up with a judgment anyway. I have seen numerous examples of cases where the creditor claims that the debtor made a payment, or made a promise to pay, within the limitations period which, if true, as is explained in the above response, extends the limitations period.

Additionally, court processes in those courts that handle a lot of consumer debt normally forces people to go to mediation, and at the mediation there is a great deal of pressure to get you to agree to pay SOMETHING. If you agree to pay any part of the debt, no matter how small, or do make a small payment, or even acknowledge that you do owe the debt, that extends the limitations period.

So, be very careful not to do anything that in any way acknolwedges that you owe this or any part of it, or make any attempt to settle with the creditor, because if you do, you will be right back in the soup.

The collection companies are very skilled at getting people to pay, and to getting them to inadvertently waive the statute of limitations. If they come after you in any way, on the phone, by mail or in court, don't try to handle it yourself. The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) is a non-profit consumer advocacy organization. NACA maintains a web site at www.naca.net where it lists geographically consumer law attorneys all over the US. If you don't already have an attorney, please look there for someone in your area who specializes in consumer debt collection defense to review the details with you and advise you.