I am currently considering speaking with a bankruptcy attorney. Here is my situation:
I make 115K a year, steady income. My spouse was in school full time. We have two young children and live in an expensive area (not neighborhood, just the cost of living, housing prices, etc... are very expensive, but salaries are higher). As a result, I have racked up 65K in credit card debt just trying to make ends meat over the last 6 years. I also have 15K in loans, and am a co-signer for my spouses 40k private student loans. I had been able to make all payments up until last March, when my spouse became ill. I had to take over all other bills, payments, etc... I can't even come close to making all credit card and loan payments. Most are now 30-60 days late. My spouse will be unable to work for the next 6 months and I just don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. I am current on my mortgage, and plan to remain current. We own our car flat out, so no car payments, but it is getting older and I am sure we will sadly need to buy a newer car within the next few years. I wanted to see if anyone could offer any advice for a situation like this before consulting with an attorney? I am the first one to admit that buying groceries and gas, and paying for childcare with a credit card while my spouse was in school was a terrible idea, and it all adds up quickly. We cut cable years ago, don't eat out, have been selling any belongings worth any real value, are buying groceries at discount stores and sticking to the store brands, etc... I just don't know what to do next. I can hardly sleep or eat over this. I know I will likely not qualify for chapter 7 due to my income, and not sure if filing for chapter 13 would be best? Or trying to just work out payments with my individual creditors would be better? Thanks in advance!
