Bankruptcy Questions...

[zipper1]

My nieghbor filed last year for bankruptcy and has better credit now than he did this time last year.
Creditors on the most part look at two things
1..Your ability to pay back the debt
2..Are you a risk for bankruptcy
The bright side is creditors know that you can't file again for the next 7 to 10 years and will give you credit.
It will not happen overnight,about 1-2 years

I wish you the best of luck and hope your wife gets to feeling better

Big Smiles

 

[FelixDeCat]

Suggest: Sell any questionable amenities (ie second puter, big tv ) to a friend or relative for buyback later.

Or give the stuff to a relative to hold. Do this before you consult the lawyer and begin proceedings or it will look bad.

Basically hide your sh*t legally (sale for $1) or they may sell it for you

Do this and get ready to share a cell with Bubba in a federal prison. Bankrupcty trustees are paid a commision to after people who specifically do this. If you want to read the horror stories of people who got busted (even the little fish) do a search. A good place to start is www.abiworld.org.

Ps. The pending BK legislation is attrocious. Let your congressman know how you feel. I did.

Good luck Amish.

 

[Russ]

Electric Amish,

I declared bankruptcy in 1982 after a long nasty divorce battle. By 1985, I had a wallet full of credit cards, by 1987, I bought another home. It's not quite as destructive as some would have you believe.

Russ, NCNE

 

[BoberFett]

Sorry to hear it's come to this Amish.

Best of luck old pal.

 

[shifrbv]

Amish, I feel bad for your situation and hope that something will work out for you.

At the same time, I wonder how many people realize the massive amount of consumer bankruptcies we have in this country? 1 in every 68 families files bankrupty now and it's been rising over the past couple of years. This worries me. I know that some are due to catastrophic medical conditions, but when I see people talking about "free TVs", I have to wonder.

There was recent talk about reforming the bankruptcy laws. I don't believe that people should be saddled with debt for the rest of their lives (especially if it's due to medical reasons), but they should have to have some type of financial responsibility. I believe that every bankruptcy should be some type of modified Chapter 13 where people have some sort of obligation to the creditors (even if most of the debt if written off). Chapter 7 should have never existed.

 

[Zwingle]

I don't put all the blame on peoples irresponsibility for the rise in bankruptcies. I think most of the blame needs to go to the credit card companies who charge higher than hell interest rates and monthly dues. They actively look for new customers with an "I don't care if you can pay" attitude. They get you as a customer and know you will use the card wether you can pay it or not. Just look at the internet, banner ads are now everywhere for credit (good or bad). Why would a credit card company want you as a customer if they know you have bad credit? They know you cannot pay your bills on time. Hell, even my 5 year old daughter is already getting "pre-approved" credit card offers in the mail. Congress needs to regulate the industry better by controlling how high of interest they can charge if they want to slow bk's down. Have you seen any banks or CC companies post a loss in this economy? They are not losing any money, yet they say "we have to charge higher interest and more fees because we are losing money to bankruptcies". Don't put the burden on the consumer. The cc companies make you feel that you are not complete without them. In my situation, the birth of my daughter put us in a downward spiral. I held off for a year before I had to get help. I was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. I tried many times, all unsuccessfully, to get the cc companies to work with me. They said to hell with you, we want our money. Well, because of their lack of help, they got nothing in the end. And they damn well deserved what they got. .....stepping down from my soapbox now.

 

[Electric Amish]

Yeah, the companies I've talked to have REFUSED to lower the APR's. So, I guess they'll get what's coming to them.

amish

 

[XMan]

Yeah, the companies I've talked to have REFUSED to lower the APR's.

That's strange that they won't work for you. They will usually offer to freeze you account and cut your minimum payments, too.

 

[Emulex]

most CC companies will lower your rates when you are in a position to leave them Not the other way around.

I think my highest rate now is 8.4% APR on my citibank card. i'm trying to budge to get 7.9% but my buddy who made 1 late payment, they won't give him squat and jacked his rate to 19.99% for the same card..

 

[Electric Amish]

Yeah, I have a First USA Visa that has a 27% APR. We've talked to them and threatened to leave them, everything. They say our credit isn't good enough to warrant a changed.

While I'm ranting about companies, I'd like to thank the company I work for, for putting a freeze on the excercising of employee stock options and, to top it all off, not informing us. I saw this bankruptcy coming and had $8k I could have cleared in my stock-options. This was 2 months ago and the freeze is STILL on!!

amish :|

 

[compuwiz1]

It's your decision, but with a CH13, you will still have debt, just be paying back a portion of it, which is decided by certain factors, such as income and assets, as well as total liabilities. A CH7 is a total relief of all elligible debt, which is most consumer type loans, credit cards, etc. You can choose to keep some things, as things like cars, and homes have a certain exemption, depending on value. As example, you used to be able to have about $30,000 equity in a house.

One thing to bear in mind, is most lenders see a bankruptcy as a bankruptcy, regardless of whether it's a 7 or a 13. In other words, you will have bad credit either way, and you will be denied credit with no regard to whether it's a 13 or a 7.
If you really want out, then just do a 7, and be done with it. Your credit will be no worse or better either way.

Ideally, you want to avoid bankruptcy at all reasonable costs. For some people, due to circumstances, that is not an option. There are some people who just take the easy way out, no matter what the situation in life, but that's a different issue. You have some reasons, due to the health of your spouse, sounds like.

BTW, I had to to it back in 96 and today, I have great credit again.

Good luck.

 

[Windogg]

I remember your story.

Can your wife qualify for disability of some sort? I remember the circumstances a few months back and she seems more than qualified. He condition is well documented and clearly it keeps her from work despite everyone's best efforts.

I have no advice to give but you have my support. Best of luck to you and your wife.

Windogg