<prompt> Human: Hi all,My wife has debt from over 10 years ago that has negatively impacted her credit. She thinks its mainly from credit cards that she used when she was 18 and never paid off, but shes not sure which credit cards and to whom its owed. Whats the best way for us to figure out who we need to settle with and for how much?  <response>: The statute of limitation on debt governs how long a creditor can sue you for repayment, which may be different from the 7 year limitation on reporting negative impacts to a credit report. Check on the statute of limitations on debt for your state Until you are beyond this time period, creditors can still sue you for payment even if its old enough to drop off your credit report. You also need to find out exactly what actions will reset the clock both for the credit report and for lawsuits. Sometimes just talking to a creditor to enquire about the debt will reset the clock. After 10 years, you may feel a moral obligation to repay the debt, but there may not be any legal obligation.But her credit should be fairly easily repaired by simply pulling her 3 reports and disputing anything older than 7 years. 