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Spargett's avatar

Does debt follow you out of the country?

Asked by Spargett (5395points) February 26th, 2008

I was watching a movie where a character was severely in debt and it got me thinking about alternatives when there is no way to pay off extreme amounts of debt.

Say someone moved to Canada or somewhere in Europe. Would your existing debt in America follow you somehow? Or would be a clean start?

This has really triggered my interest since an alarming amount of suicide is financially related.

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4 Answers

wabarr's avatar

I would say yes, it does. As in, creditors aren’t going to forgive a debt just because someone moves. But depending on how much someone owes…it may or may not be financially worth it for a creditor to try to locate and collect on the debt. Not to mention you would really be screwed if/when you returned home.

wabarr (458points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
Spargett's avatar

I understand that it would remain in the US. The question is, would it hinder a ‘new life’ in a new country?

Spargett (5395points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
Zaku's avatar

Depends on the country, and on what you want to do in your “new life”. Basically you’ll just have no credit history, or a bad credit history, which doesn’t have to be a problem.

Before G.W. Bush signed changes to bankruptcy laws, it wasn’t tough to at least get to zero without moving out of the USA. Even in the current USA, debt is nothing to get suicidal or scared about, but it is worth solving so one doesn’t become one of the many victims of “interest”.

Zaku (30353points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
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