topic Re: Considering bankruptcy, need some advice in Bankruptcy

Considering bankruptcy, need some advice

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 09:14:42 GMT

Hi all! My son was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when he was 16. While still a minor he was in and out of the hospital number of times with many MRI scans. Even with insurance coverage, the medical expense was devastating to my family.
Now that my son is no longer a minor and is in the hospital again, should our family continue to try and pay his medical bills or should we have our son file for medical bankruptcy? Or do we have any other option other than bankruptcy?

Re: Considering bankruptcy, need some advice

despritfreya — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 11:38:38 GMT

Several points:

1. There is no such thing as a "medical bankruptcy". It is simply a "bankruptcy". The cause may be medical bills but there is no special type of bk for this.

2. If your son is incurring on-going medical bills that are not covered by insurance, filing now may be a mistake since debt incurred from the filing date forward are not part of the bk.

3. Is your son working? If not, is he on SSD? Does he have any non-exempt assets? There simply may be no reason for him to file bk if he has nothing a creditor (with a judgment) can get to. This also leads into whether or not the family should continue to pay bills that the family is not responsible for. If your son is "judgment proof" then you may be throwing out money if you are not obligated to do so.

I think he needs to deal with one thing at a time. His health concerns far outweigh the financial at this time. If and when the time is right, he should consult with a local bk attny.

Des.

Re: Considering bankruptcy, need some advice

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 13:13:27 GMT

Im going to have to agree with the above poster on this one

If your son is going to continue to incur more medical expeses, which it sounds like he is. There would be no advantage to filing BK. He would be right back in the same position he was in before the BK the very next time he goes to the hospital. And then he will really be screwed because once you file, you cant do it again for another 7 years. Stop paying his medical bills, they arent going to refuse to treat someone whos sick. Im pretty sure there are laws against that, also have him try to get on obamacare, he should be able to get it for free through dshs, and have him file for ssi and food stamps as well. He should have no problem with that, and its not going to solve all of his problems but it will at least help alleviate some of the financial burden. Thats what those social services are there for.

Now I dont really know alot about how MS works, bvut if he does ever get to a point where he is getting better and not incurring anymore medical bills, I would say that would be the time to have him file BK7 and begin to rebuild.

Re: Considering bankruptcy, need some advice

morgacj2004 — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 00:45:18 GMT

Another avenue to look at would be to see if he was eligible for Medicaid. He may not be if he is still living in your home. If there is anyway for him to become eligible that is the way to go as they would most likely pay all of his medical bills and may even retroactively pay some depending on when he became eligible. Also agree that you should see if he is in any way eligible for SSI. Also agree with the previous posters in stating that if he is judgment proof you should stop paying his medical bills. You are in no way responsible for them at this point. Def would not advise him to file until you look at all of the above and if none of those options work consult an attny specializing in these matters.