Welcome to Creditnet. I've been through the same situation you are going through. In my case, the problem was my wife's drinking. Regarding BK, if you have to do it, then do a 7, not a 13. Allow me to let you in on a two little secrets. (a) There is NO law that says someone who can't pay their bills must declare bankruptcy. No one can force you to declare, and declaring BK is your prerogative. (b) It is perfectly legal to not pay your bills if you feel you can not afford to. Now I am not saying that your creditors have no recourse, or that your life is not going to made a living hell. Just don't forget the above two facts. In my case, I reached a point where I could no longer carry my debt load. So I put it down and walked away from it. I did not declare bankruptcy. I was never sued. I have no judgements against me. I did seriously consider a chapter 7 BK. I paid a good BK lawyer to prepare the paperwork and advise me. I had the BK papers sitting in my back pocket for 4 years in case I had to use them to thwart a judgement. The SOL has now expired, and these creditors can no longer successfully sue me for this debt. In a couple more years all references to these delinquencies must drop off my credit report and can no longer be reported to future creditors. I can truthfully declare on any document that I have never had a judgement, repossession, or bankruptcy. If I had declared BK, I would be punished for the rest of my life. But it was a risk I was willing to take. I have put this trouble behind me and moved on with my life. I learned to live without credit. Trust me, it is actually very nice not worrying about it. My credit it trashed to hell, and frankly, I really could not care less. To clarify, when I defaulted, I did so after carefully considering all my options, and doing everything I could to protect myself and my family from the retribution my creditors were going to unleash on me. I decided that even though it was my fault that I allowed my financial situation to spin so out of control, I was not going to be a victim twice. I was not going to bend over and allow my creditors to do what whatever they wanted as punishment. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, even becoming a deadbeat. So I decided that if I had to become a deadbeat, then I was going to be the scariest and nastiest deadbeat they every had the displeasure of dealing with. I was not going to allow them to break the law. I was not going to allow them to sue me. I was going to fight them at all costs. I deployed a MAD strategy (Mutually Assured Destruction), the same bases for the Cold War. If they chose to destroy me, then I would make sure that it would cost them more money than they lost in the first place, and they would never get a dime. Of course for such a 'Doomsday' strategy to work, the other side has to know this fact. So I let them know what my intentions were. This is not for everyone. It worked for me because of my particular circumstances. I had nothing to loose. I had no property or assets at risk. My credit was going to be ruined anyhow, so there was no stressing about that lost cause. The only thing I had left was my ability to earn money in the future. The other thing I had going for me is that I love a good fight. Their efforts to bully me backfired and only strengthened my resolve to fight them at all costs. I've know other debtors in my life who simply folded when the pressure got too much. They gave in to the lawyers and the threats and declared bankruptcy. I found these fights to be very therapeutic for me. I looked forward to seeing what kind of crap they would come up every week. If you are like me, then you might find that sparing like this will help you with your troubles. It will remind you why are a deadbeat and make it difficult to give in to your old habits. It will keep your mind occupied and sharp. You need to seriously consider YOUR options. Remember, legal advice is just that, advice. Your lawyer is not your dad. You don't have to do what they say. Learn the facts. Get the best advice you can, then make your own decisions and accept the consequences of those decisions. Feel free to write back if you have any more questions.
Here I go again....cable, first of all your statement regarding "no one can force you to declare bankruptcy" is false. Your creditors have the legal option to force you into bankruptcy. This is what is known as an "involuntary bankruptcy". Granted this practice is usually limited to debts much higher than the OP had...but it is a legal maneuver they can do. Secondly the statement that filing bk would punish one for the rest of one's life is more than a gross overstatement...it is patently false. There are many CNers who could dispute that fact with their own personal experiences after filing bk. Granted a bk can remain on your credit report from 7-10 years...but many times people's credit is improved immensely afer bk and within 2 years can have ficos in the high 600s. So your story...while personal to you...is atypical of the road most people choose. Different strokes for different folks but I would have to say that your way certainly sounds stressful and confrontational. Why put yourself through the stress when bk is a viable option that is more humiliating than stressful...and even the humiliation factor is dropping as hundreds of thousands of filings are occuring as we speak given the massive layoffs and the corporate scandals. So, Suzy, I stand by my original post...bk is a very viable option for you but make a decision quickly as bk reform is sure to be passed after the NOV elections and this option will definitely be much harder to obtain after bk reform. clc
Involuntary BK? Tell me more! Seriously, they can declare bankruptcy on your behalf? What if you refuse to cooperate? What if you refuse to sign any documents? When I said that BK punishes you for the rest of your life, I meant that it can come back to haunt you with those stupid questions like "Have you ever declared BK?". If you are truthful, the credtor can deny credit based on that answer, no matter how long ago it was. It can also come back as an issue for some jobs and security clearances needed for some jobs. If you are not truthful, then it can be considered purgury, or even fraud, as discussed. Just cause it rolls off the credit report doesn't mean it goes away. It is part of your permanent legal record. My feeling is, why declare if you don't have to. I think many people and BK lawyers are far to quick to recommend the BK route. It is a good solution for the immediate problems. And yes, without it, it is a very stressfull fight. But I think in the loooong run, the fight is worth it. I think that the laws should be changed so that bankruptcies are also purged from the legal history after 15 years, especially if you have not declared BK again in the period. And no one can ask about your history past 10 or 15 years. Thanks for the information!
