Alright, I'll be as brief as possible. About 6 months ago, I lost my job due to an injury and was unable to receive worker's compensation. 2 months later, I turned 18 and left home to live with my Fiance`, due to parental problems which had been occurring long before I lost my job. At the time, my father handed over his credit-card along with permission to use it as I needed, if I were to pay it back. Since then, the bill has been up to the credit limit, and i returned the card. A month ago, I got a new job and I have been paying him back in bi-weekly installments of 25$-50$ as I can, due to other bills and priorities. Now, he has threatened me with "jail and heavy fines" and has me absolutely terrified. I've never ever been in trouble with the law, not even so much as a parking ticket, and he has me terrified. Help! Can I really be in trouble even though he authorized the use, and that I am paying him back?

I would also like to know how I can legally disown myself from the family, and no longer be associated with them. I live in the state of Alabama.

If he handed you the card, and you used it with his permission, there is no crime in your use of the card. That means no criminal charges, and no jail. He'd have to PROVE to police that you used the card fraudulently or without his knowledge. If you've been making payments to him, that will be enough proof to the police or any court that he was aware of the charges and that some agreement between you two existed as far as you paying it back. Police aren't going to take a criminal complaint report on a dather letting his daughter use his card and pay him back.

What dad CAN do is take you to civil court and sue you for any balance that you still owe. If you've been making regular payments, that will usually be enough to satisfy the court that you are upholding your agreement to repay. Unless he's got something in writing that says that you agreed to pay a higher amount, or over a faster period of time, he'd be wasting time and money to pursue it in court....as long as you CONTINUE to make your regular payments. If you've been paying $50, then you need to KEEP paying that amount. If you've been paying $50 but now you're only paying $25, dad can claim in court that you are not making payments as agreed. Make sure you pay in a way that makes a record of the payments (check, money order, or get a receipt from dad for each payment).

There is no such thing as a parent/child divorce (what you're calling "disown"). Parents can "disown" children by writing a will or other final direction document that leaves their assets to someone OTHER than their children. Children can only "disown" parents in the same way - by leaving their assets to someone ELSE (adult children typically leave their assets to a spouse or their own children anyway). Legally, your parents will always be your parents.

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Well said, aardvarc. Your father's complaint would never hold up in court, especially if you've been using the card for a long period of time. If it really was used fraudulently, he would have reported it to his credit card company ages ago.

Regarding civil court, there are expenses and time involved in that, which might take more effort than its worth. The judge would likely issue an order stating certain repayment terms that might be the same as what you are already paying. If so, your dad would be out $500 or so for nothing.

Don't worry, you're not in danger of getting arrested. As an adult, you have the right to cut off contact with him aside from making payments if you wish.

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Bids From Lawyers

I agree with both posters on this one. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.