CLINGING!

[Anonymous]

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

The problem with relying only on AUs would be if the OP were to die, the wife would be left without cards. Being an AU should be more of a stopgap. The other thing to consider when adding the wife as an AU is whether her spending behavior is going to change moving forward. An important objective here is to try to keep one spouse's credit healthy.

If the wife were to go through a situation that caused the loss of her current cards, she should still be able to use the husband's income on most applications for new cards. The bigger hurdle would be the baddies.

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My wife is so far from shopping now, I'm not worried at all about her spending habit.  My objective is to get her well and for her credit not to suffer as much.  I think bankruptcy or debt management would be a better option than just walking away at this point.

[Anonymous]

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@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Op, an sorry to hear about your current situation and your wife's medical condition. I dont have much to add but Express my sincerest hope that you will find a way. This is also a stark reminder or a possible outcome of having too many credit cards and how things can go south fast. I myself have alot of cards and this just helps me remember I need to reduce . Thank you and best of luck

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AveragejoesCredit, thank you for your kind words.  You'll never know how much that means to me!  It's hard, but with God all things are possible!  Thanks again!

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Sounds like some of my info may be out of date. You should get a consultation with a lawyer that specializes in consumer law to get the most up to date info. Then come back and let is know.

[Anonymous]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

Sounds like some of my info may be out of date. You should get a consultation with a lawyer that specializes in consumer law to get the most up to date info. Then come back and let is know.

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Sounds best. 

[Pikaboo-icu]

One thing that stands out to me is something you wrote in post #23

"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."

As a caregiver for a mom with severe mental illness & a few physical issues as well, I can tell you that is not your legal obligation.

My mom moved in with us 6 years ago when her husband passed away, thankfully he left her excellent insurance but...

If he had not, there is ample help thru the gov't (ouch hurts to type) for medical issues with a disabled person. You said he has early Alzheimer's and that would qualify him for medicaid. There should be zero liability on you or your wife for his medical. In addition, he should qualify for monthly income for his living expenses and food.

If you are not receiving these, you need to get with a case worker in your state. Pronto! 

In addition; if your wife is now disabled she should also qualify for medicaid and they can back bill for up to 90 days in most states. Again; get with a case worker on this.

There are a lot of resources for both your wife and your FIL, in addition to state assistance there are charity grants that can pay medical bills/expenses. A case worker will likely know of these but you can also call your local hospital and inquire at the medical offices. Google grants for Alzheimer caregivers! There are many...  grants for alzheimer caregivers

The most important thing is to ASK! If you don't Ask for help with these things, you wont get it..

Best of luck to you and many prayers for your wife's recovery and your Father-in-Law. I know first hand how difficult being a caregiver can be and you have 2 people your are caring for. Ask for help.

[Kree]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

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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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There is also a SOL on how long they get to try and collect the money from the judgement. That's the 10-20 years. They can go back to the courts to get the judgement renewed to extend the amount of time to try and collect.

OP: they can use their location or your location. They'll choose whichever location has the longer SOL usually, and sue in that jurisdiction.

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5 years in new york for collections. Thats what I was thinking off. If you pay a collections it can't remain on report for more than 5 years if you are in NY.

Might not be applicable to anything, but correct information is important.

[Anonymous]

I just read through all 6-7 pages and I did not see a single Credit Score listed by DangerMouse6.  Did I miss it??

DangerMouse:

Your job is a cash cow at $110k a year.  You're far above the regular folk who struggle to earn half that.  And your wife's extra $13k a year adds more possibility to just taking care of the debt . . . period!

But besides the "period" . . . you and your wife need someone who can be totally trustworthy to go over your income and expense report for the last 30 days.  The answer to better sleep is to come up with a plan that a confidential advocate can help you with.  My advice is . . . do NOT go the bankrupt route.  You have dozens of established accounts with long histories.  And if your current 3-Bueau Credit Report shows you have a decent credit score . . . that's worth fighting for!

Some of us are approved volunteer advocates who would not charge you a sawbuck to help you and your wife to see a clear path through the rocky jungle.  But that's what you need . . . a vision that is based on a reliable solution to get out of the debt, keep the accounts (maybe trim some of them that have annual fees), and live within your $123k a year.  

Someone mentioned the snowball effect.  It's in the Dave Ramsey Book . . . who is renown for getting out of debt and saving the savings of little things to obtain a lot of cash on hand.  The book is cheap, the time it takes to read it is the real cost to you.

But again, no one here knows you . . . and if you have a credit score that is worth fighting for . . . then tell us.

Michael

[Anonymous]

Look, forgive me because I just read down to the OP's "judgement proof" comment on his SO's disability and the assumption it cannot be touched by creditors and I just had to respond. With this in mind, first, if someone else already addressed this point, forgive me, and second, please allow me to speak from experience: disability is NO HOW, NO WAY, "JUDGEMENT-PROOF". Up to a maximum of 15% of your DW's benefits can be garnished by creditors...unless things have changed in the last few years.

Just so yannow. BOL and I pray you two will prosper beyond belief.

[Sloedough]

WOW! This thread got confusing fast.

First of all, kudos to you for supporting your wife and her dad, and then still have enough left to worry about her credit. Personally I don't know if I could handle it.

The only thing I can add here is; when I was young I destroyed my credit, with a Sears card and bad checks. At the time I found a credit counceling agency that helped me out. Don't use the ones you pay for, there are counclers out there that are not-for-proffit. Those are the ones you need to look for. Some of the things I learned then, I still use today. I was 19 when I did this, so things might be very different now.

A credit councler should be free to talk to, the only thing it will cost you is time. They will take a small percentage, it you use them to negoiate with your creditors, and pay them to pay your creditors. You always have the option to just take their advice and do the leg work yourself. Just remember to use only not-for-proffit counclers.

Again I have serious respect for you, taking care of your wife and her dad, while working 10+ hours a day. We all should be asking you for advice.

[Anonymous]

Just read through everything. I am really not going to be adding anything that others have not already said. Just want to point out that it can be quick for us to judge OP because of the six figure salary...but depending on where you live, $114K per year is the minimum you need to earn to live a middle class lifestyle. Denver, for instance, is getting insanely unaffordable. I earn $72K a year but cannot afford a single family house (ave price now is over $500K) on my own because of the prices. And rent isn't any better.  Point being, a lot of people spend a lot on housing depending on the city/state you live. And while those in California, NYC area, Boston and Seattle may think Denver is a cowtown (OMG it so isn't and please for the love of all things holy please stop moving here!) and is cheaper than where you live now...take for instance that Boise, ID is fast becoming unaffordable too-Boise. No longer are the older, huge cities the only expensive places in the US.

I would still try to take care of some of the smaller card balances first and then move on to the next cards. You never said what 24 of the 26 cards were. I have to assume that some of these are store cards with smaller balances. What I would try at first is to start tackling the smaller balance cards by paying them off and then moving towards the larger balance cards. If you break it down from card to card like that, you can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel and can accomplish taking care of the debt. Once you get rid of the balances on some of the smaller cards you may be able to get a loan for the rest. 

If after trying that (and really trying) you find that the burden is too great then Mrs. should consider filing for bankruptcy. I kind of feel that you came here seeking validation or "approval" to file. Ultimately it is your family's life and you will know best how to handle the situation. Remember that bankruptcy is not the Scarlet Letter it used to be and there is no real shame in going that route and learning from it.