Bowman, Heintz, Boscia And Vician After 3 years they sue me on a debt the original owner refused payment of Merrillville Indiana

First sorry about your Husbands death, but there are things you are going to need to know about and check.

The fact that it was Charged-Off by Citibank does not relieve the responsible party of the debt. That is just an accounting term that they are required to use. What they do is sell the debt to another collection agency(Midland). Once this is done Citibank is actually restricted from talking to you about the account because they no longer have the legal right to it. The first question who is the responsible party for the debt.

If this was not a joint account, and it seems you live in IN which is not a Community Property State. The debt would be owed by your husbands "estate". This is generally handled through the probate process. If there is no money in his estate then they can't collect.

If this was a joint account, where you were more than just an Authorized User then you may be legally responsible for this debt. Since it appears you stopped paying Citibank around 9/2005 they are still in the Statute of Limitations(for IN it's 6 years) for a suit.

Depending on exactly what you wrote in the letter(and if they still have it) you may have admited that you owed the debt. What ever you do GO TO COURT, to defend yourself. If you don't go they will get a default judgment against you. If this debt has been passed around to several collection agencies, there is a chance that they have "lost" the original paperwork. So in court you need to make them prove that you are an account holder, that they have the legal right to collect on the debt, and that the amount of the debt is valid. In case you loose also bring all your financial documents to show your lack of ability to pay. The judge may force them to work something out with you as regards to a payment plan.

This is just things you need to check and look into. Since there could be some specifics left out of your situation you should at least consult an attorney. Paying for an hour's time may be worth it if they can give you specific advise to your situation.