The relative collected credits: Can they be pinned on me?.

Most likely not, but there are nuances.

We choose friends, but not relatives. And unfortunately, not all family members may exhibit financially rational behavior. Therefore, watching someone gain loans is scary. Firstly, I’m scared for these people - how they will be able to dig themselves out of this hole. Secondly, for yourself - what if you have to give money that you didn’t take?

The good news: in most cases, you won't be affected by your relative's loans. But sometimes you still have to take the rap.

In what cases will you have to pay loans for a relative?

If you are married

By default, not only property, but also debts are considered jointly acquired. So if one spouse takes out a loan and then stops paying it back, the bank may turn its attention to the other. Debt obligations are also divided during a divorce, unless the husband and wife agree on a different development of events.

However, this situation can be avoided. The fact that the debt is the responsibility of only one of the spouses can be established in a prenuptial agreement. You can enter into it at any time during the marriage, and it is better to do this when the husband or wife takes out a loan. Because the relationship may deteriorate, and then you will have to prove that you have nothing to do with this loan.

Another option is to prove in court that the injured spouse did not know about this loan, or did not give consent, or simply the agreements were different.

The court takes into account what the money was spent on. If they went for common needs, then both will be responsible for the loan, even if one says that he did not know about it. For example, a wife took out a loan of 300 thousand rubles, and a week later the family took out a mortgage with a down payment of 300 thousand - a very suspicious coincidence. Or the husband paid for a vacation for the whole family with credit money. If he went on vacation alone, there is already something to talk about.

If you are a co-borrower or guarantor

Here, family ties do not play a role at all, but your signature on the document is important.

It happens that a family member wants to borrow a large amount from the bank, but it is not approved. Maybe white income is not very large or for some other reason. And the person asks a relative to help - so to speak, in a brotherly way. The borrower promises to repay the loan himself, of course. However, it is important to remember that the document you sign has legal force, but the words of a relative do not.

A co-borrower is a person who has the same responsibilities and rights associated with the loan. That is, he is literally obliged to repay the loan in accordance with the schedule. A guarantor is someone who guarantees that the debt will be repaid. They will come to him if the borrower can no longer pay.

The main thing that should not be forgotten is that both of them must pay on someone else’s loan. It is legal.

Therefore, you should think three times before getting involved with such stories. Or maybe not think at all, and answer no right away.

If you are the heir of the debtor

A person who accepts an inheritance from someone receives his property, including debts. That is, for example, you get both an apartment and a mortgage on it. If there are several heirs, debts are divided in proportion to the share of the inheritance.

You can avoid someone else's debt - just don't enter into an inheritance. And not only legally, but also in fact. If, for example, after the death of a relative you lived in his apartment, the court may regard this as an actual inheritance. This means that the debts will also be yours.

What is the danger of living with a debtor?

If the matter comes to the bailiffs, they may come to your apartment to describe the debtor’s property. In this case, so that your things do not end up being distributed, or rather confiscated, it is better to have proof that they belong to you. For example, these are checks with which you paid for the purchase, contracts with your signature and similar papers.