Dealing with Canadian debt in the U.S.
Question: My wife has $10,000 worth of credit card debt in Canada. We are now living in the United States. The Canadian creditors are now threatening to sue. What can they do to us if we don’t have bank accounts or property in Canada.
Answer: Practically, there is very little a Canadian creditor can do to you in the U.S. Typically they will phone you and send letters. If you don’t pay, they could seize your Canadian bank account (which isn’t a problem if all of your money is in your bank account in the United States). Their final option is to sue you, which is possible but difficult, since it’s a lot of extra effort to sue someone in a different country. It’s possible that the courts in the U.S. won’t allow them to collect the Canadian debt in any event. Therefore, it is unlikely that they will do anything.
If they do, you could consult a U.S. Bankruptcy Attorney for more information.