I'm married and filing bankruptcy for me...but I'm really scared about creditors coming after me??

Question

We are foreclosing our house (which is just in my name and credit) and going to file bankruptcy on my credit. Does this affect my husband's credit at all? We need to keep his credit score good. Anyway, I'm super scared that creditors are going to come after me or something. I have opened 2 credit cards within the last 4 months. What can they do if I file bankruptcy? I'm afraid they're going to harass me or try to take everything I own. I just don't know anything about bankruptcy...we can't afford to get a lawyer. We can't afford anything of mine right now, that's why we're doing it.

Answer 1

You need to consult with an attorney...contact a local qualified attorney in your area, some will see you on a free first consultation or first free hour consult. An attorney will advise you on what you can and cannot pay to ease up some money to pay to retain and file bankruptcy. Where you are married and the debt is in your name and not your husbands, the courts will look at his income, seeing you live in the same household. Depending on how much your income is together which you don't state you may or may not qualify for a chapter 7...you may have to go into a chapter 13 plan, which is a payment plan usually 3 or 5 years thru the U.S. Bankruptcy courts, you are assigned a trustee who will handle your case the entire time you are in the plan. Short and swee of it, they are managing your money and paying your debts. You may not be too late to save your house thru a Chapter 13, the mortgage would be paid thru the plan as well as any other secured debts, with credit cards being paid last. Credit cards just 4 months old...that's something an attorney will have to advise you about..the new laws to do not allow current debt, as it looks abusive and intentional.  You need to seek legal advice. I don't want to sound cruel, but, get off the internet, get on the phone and find one that will see you on a free consultation. They will work with you if you can't pay upfront and let you know how you can come up with the money to file!

Good Luck!

Answer 2

if you opened credit cards in the last 4 months - you are stuck with them - that's a big NO NO - there is no way you can include them in the bankruptcy - it's very hard if not impossible to do a bankruptcy without a lawyer - and you may be forced to do a chapter 13 Bk anyway which would NOT get rid of all your other debts (you're stuck with the debt on the new credit cards) - chap 13 requires you to go on a court ordered payment plan

Answer 3

Deth is wrong (big surprise)....

You will be able to include those credit cards, but you can bet they are going to contest it.  Generally the courts will look at any debt you took out within 90 days of filing.

But you do have a lot of "issues" with your filing.  You don't say what state you live in, and there are several "community property" states that consider the wife's debts as the husbands.  You need to investigate that.

I know you can't afford an attorney, but I never recommend anyone file their own BK.  If you make a single filing error, miss one deadline, or do any of a million things wrong, the trustee will dismiss your bankruptcy and you will have to start over again....in 6 months.  During that time your creditors are going to be working like crazy to take you to court and get whatever they can.  

You have too many issues involved here to try filing on your own.

Answer 4

Bankruptcy should be the last option as bankruptcy will remain on your credit report for mare than 10 years and if the individual is listed as having filed for bankruptcy, it results in a 160-220 point deduction on their credit score and if a delinquent account is added to the individuals credit file, 70-120 points are subtracted. During the period of bankruptcy and after bankruptcy you would face difficulty in getting loan, purchasing and leasing and building your credit.

I dont know whether you know or not about the debt consolidation program. In a debt consolidation program your debt consolidators help you to consolidate your various debts into one single payment a month which in turn he will distribute it to your creditors. You can apply online in such program. After you apply a person from the company will contact and you dont have to pay anything while you apply online.

For more details you can refer to this website of a debt consolidation company named http://ezconsolidation.com