Re: Re: Re: Re: One foot in the grave.. I've filed BK and prepared a BK. Civil judgments, unless they're for child support, alimony, taxes or student loans, are discharged under Chapter 7.
One foot in the grave..UPDATE Well my wife gave the okay so we're going to let my sister and her son move in with us so I can help them get back on their feet and help them learn financial responsibility. Please tell me you can teach an old dog new tricks? They are moving in next month. I am going to take total control of their finances for a while. I will take their paychecks and put some in savings, pay their rent to me, pay their bills then give them what is left to do with whatever. They will not have access to their savings account that I"m going to open for them. Only when they get ready to move out will I turn that over to them. We gave them until Feb. 1, 2004 to move out. So they know they only have limited time with us. I also got them each a Citi Cash card that works like a Mastercard (prepaid MC). I will make them pay me once a month for anything they 'charge' on it just like a regular credit card. After a month or two if they use it wisely and pay on time, I will put some more of their money on the card and give them a 'credit line increase.' I started with $50 each on each of their cards. I'm thinking she'll have to go ahead and file bankruptcy after the mandated time here in AZ (90 days?) for all her collections and judgements. I'll have to read up more on that. I'm charging them $350 a month rent due on the 1st of each month and not 'pay some now and the rest next payday.... because that's not how it works in the real world. What I'm not telling them is when they move out in February, I'm going to give them all their 'rent' money back. So they'll have a good head start when the move out. Plus what they have in savings. Hopefully over the next six or seven months, I can teach them how to save, pay bills on time, charge what is needed when cash not available and not charge 'wants.' Then pay in full when the bill comes. Any other suggestions or comments will be appreciated. If you think I should do something more or less, let's hear it.
One foot in the grave..UPDATE WOW! You have really done your work! Plan looks great! I am glad you and your family decided to help. Best of Luck, Michelle
One foot in the grave..UPDATE Broncsboi You will surely be blessed. That's awesome what you're doing. To be honest, what you're doing is something that I wish someone in my family would have done before I left home so that (a) I had a clue; and (b) didn't have to return home to pay off unnecessary debt and get my act together later in life. Not only will you be helping to prepare your sister for a function financial life, but your nephew as well. She'll hopefully realize how taking care of her finances is crucial to caring for her family. Not to be dramatic, but what you're doing--and hopefully it meets with success--is really making our society a better one.
One foot in the grave..UPDATE You're doing a great thing for your sister. I like how you're making her live in the "real" world to teach her how it is, while you're still there for support. Get the validations out, maybe you can get rid of some of her negatives. Then maybe she can get a little better paying job and actually pay it off. $6800 isn't all that much if she learns to live within her means. Maybe she can get some sort of consolidation loan, although it would be at subprime rates. And as the collections get older, she can possibly negotiate for lower amounts, since they'll be closer to the SOL and would soon be noncollectable. Keep us posted on how she's doing!
Re: Re: Re: One foot in the grave.. I don't see how filing bankruptcy would benefit this lady. She has no assets to protect - as someone else pointed out. I would save that option for later on in life when I really needed it. She does not have a house or car to protect. At this point, paying back her creditors will not help her in the least. Her only answer is time. DO NOT apply for any more credit and DO wait for all those derogs to fall off her report in 7 years. Then start over clean. I was in the same boat she is in now. Repos, terrible credit in the low 400's, homeless - the whole 9. If she starts paying back her creditors then those derogs will stay on her report as long as they are active. If there is no activity, the creditors will stop updating eventually and they will fall off
Re: One foot in the grave..UPDATE I hate to sound so pessimistic, but here is a lady who has demonstrated time and time again that she cannot pay her bills on time. What's the purpose of a consolidation loan for someone like her? I predict the moment she gets that check - it will go toward something other than her bills.
