CLINGING!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Jnbmom wrote:

She plans on defaulting on 26 cards? She "may' be judgement proof but as the other poster said laws may vary. Her reports will be a MESS for a long time. How much does she owe on all the cards?

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She owes about $50,000.  I think she would try and keep three but again, it's sitll a lot of cards to walk away from.

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Chances are any cards she tries to keep open are going to take adverse action and CLD or close the accounts when they start seeing everything else get charged off on her reports.

Nobody can give real advice without knowing your income, expenses and also your own debt. It's possible you could need to pull the BK trigger and start over. It's also possible that if your living expenses are too high or you're both driving around cars that have payments that your budget is broken and your lifestyle needs adjusted.

One important note . . should you end up going the BK route, make sure any medical bills have stopped accruing as to not incur new ones that you'd be responsible for post BK.

[Anonymous]

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@pipeguy wrote:

One of the advantages of opening cards in only your name, rather than joint, is that a default be it a 30 day late or a bankruptcy only affects the person that has the account, not the spouse. Since you said you have no assets, such as a house and the fact that she is on disability opens the possibility of bankruptcy for her only. 

While I am NOT a fan of filing bankruptcy as a matter of convenience, if she is carrying a balance on 26 cards (OMG) I have no doubt that is killing your options. You said that you are not in the same situation and that you make a regular income - by maintaining your credit properly you alone can qualify for a mortgage in the future if your income alone will cover the mortgage requirements. 

I would suggest two things: #1 speak to a bankruptcy attorney about the possibility of having her alone file bankruptcy - note that any card established as joint credit will remain your obligation. #2 seriously examine how you got into this situation in the first place, having 26 cards all carrying a balance suggests a major spending problem a total lack of control using credit.

Bankruptcy is a painful fresh start, painful because it takes years and a lot of discipline to recover, but you can always make her an AU on 1 of your cards - considering the history of total lack of spending control I certainly would not make her an AU on more than one card. 

You also did not mention what kind of disability she is on, or if its temporary. If she is collecting SSDI there is an allowance under SSDI to work and earn some income without giving up the SSDI benefit. I assume she is not on SSI because she couldn't have 26 credit cards on SSI and the cash and real assert restriction is much greater on SSI.  

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The credit got so high because of medical bills for the past year 1/2 for her and her dad.  She just recently got on long term disability, not sure which one, but I think it's SSDI.  I've tried to help pay, but I'm struggling to make ends meet at this point and stressed over my wife.  About a yr ago, her dad diagnosed with very early onset alzheimer's and so we'ere also taking care of him financially as well.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Willing defaulting on 26 cards, why would someone even consider it as an option??? I am speechless why anyone would default to 'be on easy street'.

You have other options:

Call credit card companies to reduce interest rates. Use the snowball effect to pay off cards. - I did this.

Low interest Consolidation loan (cancel the major of the paid off cards). 

You work 9-10 hours a day...7 days a week? Weekend job for a while? I did this, cleaned offices on weekends for almost 9 months. My day job was M-F 6-3 not including commute time. 

Cut expenses, I am always amazed what people won't even consider to reduce expenses. I cancelled cable, suspended cell phone service for a few months. No dining out. Entertainment had to be free, walking to the local library and checking out a book or hanging out at a park.

Even BK is a better option, if you really cant pay your debt. 

You are talking about defaulting over $300 a month. It's better to do what is right, than what is easy. 

Sorry for the rant.....reading that anyone would consider this is absurd. 

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Again, "easy street was a poor choice of words."  I meant to say, one less thing to worry about so I could focus on my wife.  So now that's out fo the way,  Reducing interest rates on 26 cards still would not allow us to pay all of them monthly.  Min payment aren't $300, more like $1200 and that's a hunch.  What is the snowball effect?  Applying for loan right now is not an option because I already have a loan out to cover my father-in-laws medical bills.  My wife is an only child and has to take care of her dad.  Our expenses are already bare bones.  I don't work a conventional job.  I drive for Amtrak, so my hours vary.  I'm off during the week and on those days I'm running errands, taking care of business that my wife can no longer do.  Working an extra job can't be done right now. 

[Anonymous]

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@Kree wrote:

If you can tutor a high school kid for 20 bucks an hour 2 hours a week. That would be 160 monies in your pocket. Halfway there.

If you can't.  A few hours of uber saturday morning might earn the same.

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Thanks for the ideas.  The problem is I don't have spare time.  I work and take care of household on days off.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have absolutely no problem with strategic defaults/BKs when the situation is caused by the criminal or irresponsible behavior of the banks, see 2008. The result of that was more money was stolen from us, in addition to lost equity and investments, in the form of taxes to bail out criminal institutions that were declared TBTF. 

This being said, especially if one is to BK because they are in way over their head in frivolous debt (not saying this is OPs case!), it is extremely important to analyze and eliminate factors that contributed to the BK when moving forward. BK is a fresh start and a fantastic opportunity to choose to live a simpler cash based lifestyle, and learn to use credit not only responsibly, but to YOUR advantage!

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Can my wife file by herself?  My thinking is that they would automatically include me since I'm the spouse, which I would not do. 

[Anonymous]

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@SOGGIE wrote:

OP: Here is my suggestion, without the unnecessary sarcasm or criticism. Perhaps your spouse's lenders offer a Payment Hardship Plan. To get a better understanding of how it works, visit: https://bettercreditblog.org/secret-credit-card-company/

Best of luck to the both of you!

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Thanks SOGGIE.  I will look into that!  Thanks for the link!!

[Anonymous]

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@Kree wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
If you live in a community state, and the cards were opened after you were married, the creditors can come after you since she's judgement proof. Even if you aren't in a community state, they will try to get you to pay even though you aren't legally obligated, unless it was a joint application, Then they have every right. SOL doesn't matter for her as they can't get any monies. That being said, the negative accounts will stay on her credit for 7 years. In addition, they can still obtain a judgement in court for the debts, they just can't collect. Those judgements will stay on her report for 7 years.

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so_broke_it_hurts, love the name!  We're not a community state so that's good news.  They can try, but I'm not going pay, since no cards were joint applications.  In NY, I was reading that regarding the credit, it says the SOL depends on the state of the bank.  So for Discovery for example, the headquarters is in DE.  The SOL for DE is 3 yrs.  So does this mean once she stops paying it will show up for 3 yrs on her report then drop off?

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the SOL is how long they can Sue her. In NY it will remain on her report for 6 years I believe.  (7 years everywhere else, someone else might correct me.)

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Thanks for the info.  It's overwhelming and I really don't know where to turn.  I've never had to deal with this before. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Jnbmom wrote:

She plans on defaulting on 26 cards? She "may' be judgement proof but as the other poster said laws may vary. Her reports will be a MESS for a long time. How much does she owe on all the cards?

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She owes about $50,000.  I think she would try and keep three but again, it's sitll a lot of cards to walk away from.

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Chances are any cards she tries to keep open are going to take adverse action and CLD or close the accounts when they start seeing everything else get charged off on her reports.

Nobody can give real advice without knowing your income, expenses and also your own debt. It's possible you could need to pull the BK trigger and start over. It's also possible that if your living expenses are too high or you're both driving around cars that have payments that your budget is broken and your lifestyle needs adjusted.

One important note . . should you end up going the BK route, make sure any medical bills have stopped accruing as to not incur new ones that you'd be responsible for post BK.

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Living expenses are high because of medical which is going to be on going.  Got rid of one car and paid the balance on the newer car 5 yrs ago, so no need for anything new now.  Don't want to do joint BK and so if my wife could file by herself unfortunately that might have to be an option. 

[Anonymous]

“Can my wife file by herself? My thinking is that they would automatically include me since I'm the spouse, which I would not do.”

I did by myself and my wife was not included in BK, however you’d really need to speak with a BK attorney for an accurate answer based on your situation.

The stress relief was immense, my wife maintained her credit, and we kept our cars via payment affirmation agreement with our credit union.

If you decide to go the BK route, please do find a good attorney, it can be a complex issue and you will want to protect any assets you have, which they will advise you on.

[CH-7-Mission-Accomplished]

To get accurate advice, you need to provide more information.   Please list:

Your Gross Income

Wife's Gross Income (and source)

Then list each of your debt obligations.   For credit cards list the current balance and the credit limit.

There is a huge difference between owing a few hundred dollars on each of 26 cards and owing thousands on each card.

Usually when people's total annual gross income is less than or equal to their outstanding unsecured debt, that means you should file a BK.

When you say you make decent money, is it more than is allowed in your state to file a BK7?