I have many old, old negative tradelines on my CR. Car repo, credit cards, medical, etc. I have no way to pay this debt even if it was reduced by 60%. Some of it was my own doing, some my (now ex) wife's. My last CR score was approx 440's (yuck). The question is: Do I wipe it out with a BK 7 filing or do I make an attempt to pay some of the old, negative tradelines? I'm not looking to run away from my responsibility, but I also have to be practical in the amount I would be able to pay off. Any ideas?
See a bankruptcy lawyer, and see if you qualify for a Chapter 7. The initial consultation is usually free. I'm sure there will be other posters here who will suggest alternatives to bankruptcy.
Simple question: Where do you want to be in five years, financially? BK7 vs BK13 is less of a choice than it used to be, it now depends on your overall financial circumstances. Both have their advantage; both have their consequences. There may be other options. Without knowing where you want to go, it is a bit like spinning wheels to talk about which is better at this point.
I agree with Oracle by and large. However, from a credit score perspective, you can come out of bankruptcy at about a 620 mid-score. That can happen fairly soon providing you meet the guidelines (I'll assume you will since you cannot afford to pay much of the debt). A wage-earner plan or disputing this old garbage will take forever. You will invest a year or two getting to a 600 if that is even possible and you will still owe everything that is deleted (it may be time-barred but, they will still attempt collection). From the little infromation you've provided, BK seems the most logical if you can do it.
How old is "old,old"? If you are nearing 7 years (for credit reporting purposes), and/or the Statute of Limitations for legal collection for these, it may best to try and wait them out. If you want to "repay somehow", you can then pretty much pay as you like. Exact number for "age of accounts" is critical here....(if they're "old,old")
Thank you all who commented on this. I'm not looking forward to filing a Ch. 7, but it may be best logically speaking (assuming that is the recommendation by a BK attorney). I can't even afford a CH. 13 plan (repayment). If attaining a mid 600s score while keeping my nose clean is within reach in 4-5 years, then it seems like a better path. I can try to pay the smaller debts to clean up as much as possible, but I'm not sure how much impact that will have on my CR in the long run. Not to mention still owing amounts that I just can't imagine paying (limited resources). Thanks to all who responded.
You will qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy if your total household income is below your state's median income level. But you cannot choose which debts you want to include in your filing - you have to list all of them.
I agree with apex that BK would be logical if it worked as it is supposed to work. In reality, the JDBs are now placing IIB accounts on people's CRA reports regardless of the permanent stay, and though the BK laws are powerfully equipped to fight the practice, the BK courts just don't have the resources to get the job done for every (former) debtor whose permanent stay gets violated. It can still take forever to dispute away the old garbage, even if BK does its job. Follow this link or Google "Prisoners of Debt": http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily...vesting_investing+index+page_personal+finance Of course, taking these abuses to court has put a lot of money in FlyingIFR's pocket... (they did bad things to him, and he did worse things back...)
But back to Bizwiz's question--how old? Why file BK if the debts are time-barred anyway? How old are the debts, what state are you in (which determines the SOL for collecting).
