CLINGING!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
“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.

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Thanks Real_Name.  I will look into this as a real possibility.  Was your wife's income looked at or just yours?

[Anonymous]

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@CH-7-Mission-Accomplished wrote:

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?   

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My gross is $101,000

Wife $13000

We are above according to means test.  My wife is the accountant so I will have to find out the numbers from her and figure out how she manages to pay, but I think we're about $135,000 in debt.  This doesn't include my father-in-laws medical bills that we pay as well.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous

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Thanks Real_Name.  I will look into this as a real possibility.  Was your wife's income looked at or just yours?

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She had minimal income, similar to your wife's, but had assests. A BK attorney will do what is called a "means test" to see if you qualify for BK7 or BK13, and advise you as to what assets may be protected and others that may not. Good luck to you, there is a light at the end of the tunnel whichever path you choose!

Edit: Just saw that you already looked at the means test. Again, if you look into BK, seek the advice of a BK attorney as you may be able to file BK13 and enter a repayment program. I was very close to the BK7/13 line.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous

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Thanks Real_Name.  I will look into this as a real possibility.  Was your wife's income looked at or just yours?

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She had minimal income, similar to your wife's, but had assests. A BK attorney will do what is called a "means test" to see if you qualify for BK7 or BK13, and advise you as to what assets may be protected and others that may not. Good luck to you, there is a light at the end of the tunnel whichever path you choose!

Edit: Just saw that you already looked at the means test. Again, if you look into BK, seek the advice of a BK attorney as you may be able to file BK13 and enter a repayment program. I was very close to the BK7/13 line.

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Thanks for your help!  If I could have my wife alone do it, like you did, that would be best.  Her income is cleary a 7, but adding me into the equation means 13. 

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

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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.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Jnbmom 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 10 years.

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  Aren't judgements renewable as well?

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I think they are only if she promises to make payments or agrees verbally to the creditor or collections that they are her debt and then it will renew again from that point.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

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You're thinking about re-affirming a debt. Judgements are a different beast and can be renewed.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

Something else to keep in mind, if she got those cards and limits prior to becoming disabled and going on a fixed income, she will probably not be able to come close in the future because of the fixed income. 

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Sorry, what do you mean by come close?

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You said she's in the hole for about 50k. If you lose those cards and limits, she won't be able to get them again on disability. At least in California you wouldn't be able to.

[Anonymous]

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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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The most common state in which creditors incorporate is Delaware, which has a 3-year statute of limitations for debt-collection lawsuits (10 Del. C. § 8106). So, for example, if you had a Discover Bank credit card that you stopped paying on January 1, 2012, and Discover Bank transferred your delinquent account to a third-party debt buyer, such as Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, then since Discover Bank is a Delaware Corporation, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, would have until January 1, 2015 to sue you for the debt. Since Discover Bank is a Delaware Corporation, a 3 year statute of limitations would apply to your New York Discover Bank credit card debt, even if your credit card debt is transferred to a local third party debt collector, such as Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC.

This is for NY

[Anonymous]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Jnbmom 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 10 years.

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  Aren't judgements renewable as well?

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I think they are only if she promises to make payments or agrees verbally to the creditor or collections that they are her debt and then it will renew again from that point.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

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You're thinking about re-affirming a debt. Judgements are a different beast and can be renewed.

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I think we have to rethink this very careully then! 

[Anonymous]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

Something else to keep in mind, if she got those cards and limits prior to becoming disabled and going on a fixed income, she will probably not be able to come close in the future because of the fixed income. 

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Sorry, what do you mean by come close?

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You said she's in the hole for about 50k. If you lose those cards and limits, she won't be able to get them again on disability. At least in California you wouldn't be able to.

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I could always just add her as an au.  This isn't as easy as it seemed.