SOL clarification, please

[Country Living]

Texas - but, this is a general question.

Answers to some of the statute of limitations postings stated the SOL is suspended if the debtor moves out of state. In other words, if you leave the state in which you incurred the debt you could be on the hook forever. Did I misunderstand?

 

[Chien]

Cut from a response on 5/10/06:

It's easy to say that the SOL is tolled if you move out of state. Actually, it's tolled when you become unavailable for service of process, and could not be located by reasonable, due diligence. If you had debts in [TX] and you send a certified letter to all creditors that "as of 1/1/06, I am relocating, and my new, permanent residence will be 1234 Main Street, Denver, CO 90000 on and after that date", there's a very good arguement that the SOL is never tolled.

In truth, a creditor, trying to make an arguement that there was a suspended SOL on a time-barred debt because the debtor moved, is going to take a counter-position, but it's getting harder to do in this day of public records on the internet. You move from one state to another and, with sufficient data to begin with (full name, SSAN etc.) and adequate time to get a residence, arrange for utilities, get a car and a new bank account, a good skip tracer could probably find you in a couple of hours. Obviously, if you leave a forwarding address and/or are transferred by your employer, things are easier.

 

[Country Living]

Thank you.

Thanks for clarifying the statement.