My fiance has this friend that wants to file BK. Don't know what chapter. Here is the story. She got married a few years ago and her and hubby don't have good credit. They bought a condo with parents as co-signers. Then they proceeded to spend over $20K to renovate the place mostly through credit cards I was told. Hubby got laid off last year and has drifted through several jobs. He never seems to stay at a job for too long. The wife wants to file a BK by herself to clear the cc debt. Then the husband will get a mortgage for another place with 25% down. Where they will hide this money in the meantime, I don't know and don't care. They seem to think that with such a large down payment they won't have to go through a credit or income verification check. Myself and others think that she can't file BK by herself and the hubby's credit won't be affected. Especially since they have joint accounts. Can anyone confirm this?
If it is joint debt, and wife clears the cc debt it will only be cleared from her name not husbands...he will still be responsible for all joint debt. It is possible for one spouse to file, but that DOES not clear the debt if its joint...
Any joint debt is on both reports...if only wife files and includes it then ONLY her report shows bankrutpcy and his shows lates/collections/charge offs or however the debt is being reported. Therefore, he will not be able to clear his credit just by her filing cause joint debt are just that JOINT and will always appear on each person report that the accounts are in. Another thing to consider is this: If she files and gets the debt discharged via bankruptcy, the lender MAY come after him for the debt! I'd hate for him to be put in that position to have to owe it all himself.
