Married spouse wondering if I can file Chapter 7 alone

[dlynk196]

Hello forums, I'm A married spouse who unfortunately recently purchased a home and racked up an extreme amount of debt trying to remodel the place. I'm very nervous and can no longer keep my head above water on my bills, I was wondering if there any possibility seeing as the loans are in my name alone, that I can file for bankruptcy and not impact my wife?

Also, what is this something I can do without her knowledge? As I would not want to stress her out seeing as she's do with our third child. I do not want to lose our home or my car. Our mortgage is up to date and the loan is only in my name alone, but she is only on the deed.

Please, any knowledge would be extremely helpful

[StartingOver10]

What is your income and debt? Are you saying you would reaffirm the mortgage and the car loan and just discharge cc's? If so, consider a Ch13. 

What is your city and state?  It makes a difference as the bk exemptions and laws vary tremendously from state to state.

Does your wife work? Part of the means test is HH members and HH income. http://www.legalconsumer.com/bankruptcy/laws/

[dlynk196]

All my payments afe currently up to date and never late, CC's mortgage car personal loans, are all up to date. I just can't do it any longer..

I make 75k, reside in New Haven CT, and between credit cards amd.person loans its 150k...

I w

[Anonymous]

Still not enough info about your situation here. What kind of and how much debt?

I doubt you'd be able to get into a 7 making $75k. My attorney said the only reason he was able to get me into one with my income was because I lived in Manhattan.

You're current on everything now. I'm inclined to think that you should budget, sell the house and move, whatever vs. tanking your credit and having a BK follow you around the rest of your life. If there's truly no way, talk to attorney and they'll most likely put you in a 13 and determine what your monthly income vs expenses allows you to repay. Not sure you can do it without involving your wife, though.

[dlynk196]

So minimum Monthly payments of $2500 for personal loans and credit cards, not including my mortgage, will not qualify me for a chapter 7? I can't make the payments any longer do not sure how I wouldn't qualify, but I'm unsure.

We just bought the house and are expecting our third child. We have virtually zero equity, and are on time on mortgage, so why would selling the house be a plan? Sorry, jusy curious why you would suggest that

[StartingOver10]

We really don't have the expertise to say Ch 7 or Ch 13 from here....we don't know your circumstances and more importantly we aren't attorneys. 

The decision to file Ch 7 or Ch 13 is based on the means test. Ch 13 gives you more flexibility with your home and vehicle retention. There is even such a thing as a zero payment Ch 13 but that is rare. Here is a little info for you http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/chapter-13-bankruptcy-plan-obligations-29601.html

You may qualify for a Ch 7 but really you would be better off going to an attorney in your district that can give you accurate information for your specific situation.

If I were in your shoes I would do the following:

• put together current income and debts (easy to read spreadsheet with back up documentation)
• interview at least 3 good Bk attorney's in your area and ask for their suggestion, Ch 13 or Ch 7

When did you buy your home?

[dlynk196]

We just bought our home in March of this year

[StartingOver10]

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@dlynk196 wrote:

We just bought our home in March of this year

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You need to be very, very careful here.

When you make application for a mortgage you are providing all of your financials in great detail to the lender.

When you file bankruptcy, you are providing all of your financials to the Federal Bankruptcy court and they go back longer for review then the lender did for the mortgage.

Obtaining a mortgage you show that you can afford the mortgage.  Going for bankruptcy shows you can not afford your debt. Going for bankruptcy within months of closing your mortgage (looks like 7 months from closing if you file now) looks like you lied to either the lender or the court (not saying you did, saying it looks like it).  The exception would be if you had a substantial change in financial circumstances from the time of your closing on the house just a few months ago and now when you want to file. 

You can see where this could create substantial issues for you, right?  The closer in time these two conflicting actions are, the more scrutiny you will get by the trustee. Naturally if you are in a Ch 13, you would receive less scrutiny than in a Ch 7.

Go over your budget carefully.  Get rid of any superflous items (cable for example). Knock out all the eating out and other items that put you over the edge. Go to daveramsey.com to get other budgeting ideas.  You will have to go through the process anyway for a Bk, may as well tighten up as much as possible to see if you can avoid one.  Consider getting a renter in your home if possible. Try everything to avoid filing this year IMHO.

[Anonymous]

Didn't you make a post yesterday saying you already filed Chapter 7 back in 2009? You wouldn't be eligible to file CH7 again until 2017 if that's the case.

[Anonymous]

I definitely do not recommend you take a step like this without talking to your spouse. That is a presciption for disaster. I understand you don't want to put undo stress on her, but part of marriage is communication. She needs to know where things are and I'm sure she has noticed things aren't right with you. Her guessing what's wrong might be increasing her stress anyway.

Talk with her. See if there are ways to cut back, then get with a competent attorney to discuss it....together. Good luck to you.