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My aunt went to several loans to which she isn't capable of paying as of now. Now, the lenders are visiting our house and trying to find her and she currently lives in the same residence with me, additionally I have been failing to contact her for a while now . I come to ask if the lender can also take my property as payment for her loans for that is something that I wouldn't want to happen.

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  • Where are you (jurisdiction)? In some places, you might inherit her debts after she dies, but it's unlikely you'd be responsible for her debts while she's alive. If the house ownership is shared between you and your aunt, a sale of the house could be forced (but you'd get your part, and you could also buy out your aunt's part).
    – amon
    Commented Mar 22, 2021 at 9:55
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    There's a lot of info missing here. Are the loans taken out in your aunt's name, are you a co-signer or in any way associated with the loans? Are the loans unsecured, secured on your property, or secured in some other way? Does she co-own the property you live in? I don't understand what you mean that "she currently lives in the same residence with me, additionally I have been failing to contact her for a while now". If she lives with you why can't you contact her?
    – Vicky
    Commented Mar 22, 2021 at 10:11
  • She left and I think could have hid after seeing the lenders. I do not want my property to be diminished because of her irresponsibility.
    – Kaixzer
    Commented Mar 22, 2021 at 10:53
  • Your assets (i.e. stuff that you own) are safe as long as you didn't sign anything with respect to the loan. If debt collectors show up at your door, tell them to go away unless they have a warrant of sorts. Call the police, if you have to: these guys are often VERY pushy and not concerned at all with your rights.
    – Hilmar
    Commented Mar 22, 2021 at 13:29

2 Answers 2

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The laws regarding debt collection vary by country, and even by local jurisdiction. In addition during the current health crisis there may be additional protections.

Now regarding your responsibility:

If you and your aunt are co-signers on a debt you are also responsible for the debt.

If you and your aunt are both on the credit card, you are both responsible for the debt.

If you are using your aunts car, and the car is collateral for a debt, then you could lose access to the car if it is repossessed, even if you aren't a cosigner.

she currently lives in the same residence with me

If the place you live is collateral for a loan she has, then you might not be able to live there anymore. If she is renting the place, and you are on that same lease you are also responsible for the lease payment. If you aren't on the lease, but she is, you could be evicted.

Now, the lenders are visiting our house and trying to find her and she currently lives in the same residence with me, additionally I have been failing to contact her for a while now .

What they can do to contact her, and what they can say to you is governed by the laws in your area. Even if they stay within the bounds of the law, they want your help to get rid of the debt. They want you to talk to her. They would also love it if you would pay money against the debt even if you don't have to.

Local law also covers what happens if your aunt passes away. In some places the relatives can also inherit the debts, on other places they don't.

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  • Sorry for the lack of information from my post. I am in the Philippines. I did not sign anything regarding her debts. II would like to help with the process but I have no knowledge on her actions these past few weeks. This is stressing me out for what I only have is a laptop for my studies and this might be taken due to her actions.
    – Kaixzer
    Commented Mar 22, 2021 at 10:51
  • @Kaixzer I don't know anything about the Phillippines. In western countries they can only take her stuff. Is it your laptop or her laptop? However, there is some risk that they might think the laptop is hers and you would have to sue them to get it back. Again, this might be wrong for the Phillippines. Commented Mar 22, 2021 at 11:34
  • This is entirely my own laptop which I earned for to buy and I am willing to present my proofs for that matter. Thank you for the response.
    – Kaixzer
    Commented Mar 22, 2021 at 11:53
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I guess it comes down to three questions to me, considering this is a family member you're speaking of:

  1. How badly do you want to get rid of the debt collectors coming to your home?

  2. How much do you love your aunt?

  3. How large is the debt?

ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS:

  1. Since the house you live in is the only address the debt collectors have for contacting your aunt (since she listed it as her place of residence too), you can count on them continuing to visit your home until the matter is settled, so if you don't want them constantly at your house then you can pay the debt.

  2. If you love your aunt enough to keep her out of trouble with the debt collectors, you can choose to pay the debt, or at least make payment arrangements to satisfy the debt collectors until or unless you can get ahold of your aunt to settle it with her. Sometimes for the sake of family we'll do things we wouldn't do for anyone else, and this might be one of those situations.

  3. If the debt isn't too large then it might be easiest for you to pay it so that the whole matter is settled and your life can go back to normal. Then, you can always talk to your aunt and come up with an arrangement with her to repay you what you had to spend to settle the debt.

These things are never easy, especially when it comes to family. I don't know the specific debt collection laws in your country, but the questions and answers I put here can apply to anyone in any country, because they're just common sense ways to look at your situation. The fact of the matter is, your aunt made a debt with people who are entitled to collect it, and even if they can't do anything directly to you (like evicting you or forcing you to pay the debt), they can still make your life miserable (such as by coming to your house all the time, as long as they aren't breaking your country's laws on how they go about it) until or unless they get paid. Much of this is going to depend on how you choose to handle it. To me, if the debt is small enough that it makes more sense to pay it and be done with dealing with the debt collectors, I'd probably go that route, but that's just me.

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