I have not seen or even spoken to my ex brother in law in 20 years. He must have recently researched me and found my information and used it...

Question

I have not seen or even spoken to my ex brother in law in 20 years. He must have recently researched me and found my information and used it as a reference for something because now I am getting calls every day from a court house demanding to know where he is so they can serve him papers. I did not give permission for him to use me as a reference because I haven't had contact with him in 20 years. They won't stop calling and I don't know what else to tell them except that I can't help them. What can I do?

Answer

Court houses do not typically call people asking to know their relative's whereabouts. Perhaps someone has sued your former brother-in-law, is trying to find him to serve and in their research discovered a link to you. Or perhaps this is an aggressive debt collector who is falsely stating that they are a courthouse.

You can simply explain to whomever calls that you are no longer related to this individual and do not have a current phone # or address for him. Ask for the name and address of the company calling. Perhaps ask to talk to a supervisor and request that they update their files. If the calls continue after that, you may wish to log them and if they cross the threshold of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act you may want to review the situation with an attorney.

While the above is not legal advice, I hope that it helps.

Answer

I agree with Ms. Laumann. Let me add that the fact somebody is calling you does not mean your brother gave them your information. They might well have found it on their own.