Named as authorized account holder on CC

[sillybebe]

My sister has named me an authorized account holder on an AMEX. AMEX reports to the credit bureau and it appears on my credit report. How do I handle this in my Chapter 7? I have no assets (I'm foreclosing on my house) and I am filing without an attorney because I can't afford to pay her the additional $1200 to file. Does this credit card even matter? I have a card for her VISA account too, but it isn't reported on my credit report...

[rjones04]

Interesting point because i know being authorized user, you legally are not tied to the debt, but the original card holder is. From the understanding, if you have an account open with a balance, you are supposed to report it on the date of filing. If you chose not to report the account, this is known as fraud. I would definitely advise against making that move!!! A trustee watches for stuff like this and i would be hesitant not reporting it because if they ever pull your credit report, they will question why the account was never reported. I recently filed and the lawyer requested copies of the credit report to review and i imagine a trustee could potentially get a copy. If the authorized account has a $0 balance on the date of filing, you technically do not owe the creditor, but many creditors close the account because of your recent filing BK.

[rjones04]

ok silliebeebe, i just found the answer to your question on here i was curious as well..... according to another poster named Flamingo on June 7th said "As an authorized user, you are not responsible for the account as it is not a "joint" account. As an AU, you benefit from the good credit and ontime payments of the account owner. Therefore, you would not include that account in your filing". http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...uthorized+user

[sillybebe]

Thank you!! I was a little concerned, but my sister was VERY concerned!