Some serious advice needed..please

Have you looked into the laws in your state re: being judgement-proof? Some (most?) states do not allow seizure of your home for unsecured debts.

I'd say to hold off on the BK for now, I don't see the rush unless they start threatening lawsuits - which they may because its such a large amount. Can you take your ex to court about this? Make him claim full responsibility by court order (or something like that)?

Someone else please help with the rest...

 

Sometimes hard and unpleasant choices must be made but that is really not the solution to the problems you face now. If you can't get an outstanding wage or salary out of any proposed job you might take then your efforts would be for naught anyway. In order to keep the wolf away from your door I'd almost bet that you would have to be able to land a job paying well over $100,000 a year. Remeber the tax bite and the expenses of maintaining such a position plus baby sitting would eat up well over half of your salary. The likelihood of your being able to pay them off in time to keep your fanny out of court would most likely be almost zilch. If that be the case then better off to take care of the kids. And if your ex thought you were making so much money he might very well be able to figure out some way to cut down on what he is now contributing and then you are in a deeper hole than before. And of course, you can't hope to borrow your way out of trouble either but then you already knew that.

Probably. An assets search would likely turn it up. Even if it didn't and they got a judgment then went for garnishment and assets hearings you would have to supply that information so yes, one way or another they can find out.

Maybe. Way too early to make that decision yet.

Yes. But you need to do your homework. That is paramount and don't go firing off a bunch of letters unless you know how to use them and what results to expect. Grabbing up letters off the internet or buying some program isn't a good idea unless you are willing to do some homework on your own.
Every idea that you come across, every letter you find should be carefully examined to be sure that it fits your situation and might have to be modified to some extent to fit your situation and each situation can and usually is somewhat different.
The first thing you need to do is to read such letters very carefully and see if they make sense to you and that you understand them thoroughly. If there is something in the letter that don't make sense to you or somehow don't sound just right when you read it then maybe you need to think about asking questions or doing some homework at the law library.

If the case deals with Smedlap having bought a house only to find that the swimming pool had a great white shark in it left behind by the previous owner who promised to remove the shark if you bought the property but failed to do so probably has little or nothing to do with your situation.

But yes, if you know what you are doing and are willing to put in the time and effort the right letters at the right time can terminate the debt but letters to the credit bureaus demanding deletion of the listing are not going to get rid of the underlying debt.

Just because it is no longer on your credit report does not mean that you are rid of the problem by a long shot.

Never mind the stupid dog if the owner is sitting behind the curtains with a loaded 12 gauge.




I would hate to file bk if I do not have to. I have been told by a friend of mine to file bk, but they do
not know what you guys know.

Please ask questions and I will answer. The CA's are starting to send their letters.

 

This board is a great source of advice, but severity of your situation definatly warrents a consultation with a good BK attorney. The wolves will definatly come knocking on your door wanting their money sooner or later. You might try becoming judgment proof for the time being, if you qualify for homestead and garnishment exemptions, but eventually you are going to have to deal with those judgments.

 

You mention that your house IS NOT on your reports. Is there a tradeline on your reports from your last mortgage? Unfortunately, this might give the bloodhounds a scent. Do not reply to the CA's letters. If you are getting your mail at a p.o. box, they will have to send you the summons via certified mail (to prove you were properly served). DO NOT SIGN for anything coming through your alternate address. They have to properly serve you to sue you. Without proof of service, a judgement can be thrown out.

 

You may avoid a judgement because you are unemployed. Any expense your ex is contributing can be considered child/spousal support, which I believe cannot be garnished or taken.

 

Well, according to some if not most of the experts here on creditnet and many other boards as well everything one will ever need to repair their credit is to be found on whatever message board or forum one happens to be on. There are always those present who will readily testify that the board (whatever board) really rocks. That builds a lot of confidence in every newbie that comes along and they seem always be convinced that they have found the magic lantern and all they have to do is rub it enough and out will pop the magic genie who will gladly grant them all their wishes. If that be so then I must indeed have been far too lazy to rub the dumb lamp with sufficient vigor or maybe I rubbed him the wrong way. Whatever, no matter what I did no magic genie ever appeared before my eyes. Not even a wisp of smoke nor a faint rumble from within to indicate that I might have at least disturbed the slumbers of the genie hiding deep within the belly of the lamp. So I had to set the bloomin thing down and go figure out how to do it myself. It has taken me many years to arrive at the level of understanding and success that I currently enjoy, whatever that may or may not be. And the more I learn the more I begin to understand how little I know compared to what needs to be learned in the future.

And please understand that I have not said all of that to discourage you in any way. But it is the same for all of us. We just have to dig in and learn it no matter what if we hope to have any success at all.

Is your name really Osami????? It seems that he is about the only one who cannot be located. So if your name is not Osami and you do not have the resources he obviously has then you can be located and don't ever labor under the false impression that you cannot be located.

I can locate you reasonably quickly and if I can do that then so can the bill collectors if they just put forth sufficient effort. You can count on the fact that they have more efficient methods to do so than I.

 

He ( a bankruptcy lawyer) told me that as long as the house has no more than 75,000 in equity, they cannot take the house. But he also said that they can take a lien against the house preventing me from selling it. He said that the lien would be for 10 years, and can be renewed for another 10. Though I do not think I will be moving in the next 20 years, that is a long time away. Being a bk lawyer, he suggested I come down to file bk.

This is probably a very stupid question....but, can they still get a judgement against you if they are unable to serve you papers? Or unable to locate you?

The house is not in my name at this moment, but will be very shortly, same for the loan, which is why they are not on my credit reports.

HERE'S WHAT I WOULD DO:

Th last paragraph gives you your out. You don't need a Bankruptcy lawyer, you need a TRUST Lawyer. Set up a Trust (preferably one taht does not have your name in it) and have the TRUST own the house. Then (a) you do not legally own the house, so they can't put a lien against it and (b) you have no assets, no income and no future prospects of same so you can tell the CA's to drop dead.

 

Pretty good advice.
You would probably want to set the trust up in your children's names and you as the trustee.
Something like that anyway. Let the lawyer tell you how to do it.

 

Re: Re: Some serious advice needed..please

Exactly, make sure that the house is set up in your children's names. This makes it garnishment and lien proof.
You should also do the same with your bank accounts. If you set them up where your children are also owners, the accounts cannot be garnished.

 

Re: Re: Some serious advice needed..please

There is a procedure in CA where they can serve you through the newspaper if they can't find you. It happended to me. It's actually called service through publication.

The trust makes sense if it's set up correctly. Make sure the lawyer knows what he/she is doing.

 

Re: Re: Some serious advice needed..please

There is another alternative that is less expensive and just as secure and that method is known as joint tenency by the entireities. That is a totally different doctrine.

Plain Joint bank accounts can be garnished in most cases. Especially by IRS. It all depends on what the activity on the account is. In order to prevent garnishment a condition must exist where each of the joint account holders deposit money and withdraw money on a reasonably regular basis, all having equal access to the account. If that condition plainly does not exist it can be garnished.

However if the account is set up in the name of the trust as is the house it would be nearly impossible by almost anyone except IRS who would probably try to bust the trust. They are pretty good at that.

Bank Accounts that are set up as joint account by the entireties is far safer than just a regular joint account.

Again, the trust would probably be the better and easier way for the simple reason that most attorneys are not aware of the doctrine of joint tenancy by the entireities. Some are.

And don't ask me to tell you anymore about it than I already have. I have a personal friend of mine by the name of Larry Becraft who is a pretty famous attorney and I have heard of him speak about this on a couple of occasions but only briefly so I know that it exists and that's about all.

 

Re: Re: Re: Some serious advice needed..please

I don't wish to throw cold water on these marvelous ideas, HOWEVER!!

It is too late for you to set up a trust to hide assets from creditors, the idea is to set one up BEFORE you have the debts, not afterwards, that is called "Fraudulent Conversion" and any attempt you make to hide your assets will be undone by the Courts.

File BK, get it over with, aside from everything else, children grow up,and you need to think of what you want for them and yourself 10 years from now,instead of worrying about how to hide from creditors you should be in a position to be making positive pans for the future.

 

Re: Re: Re: Some serious advice needed..please

WhyChat I am wondering if this would be condidered "Fraudulent Conversion" if she has the property transfered in trust to the kids and not to her at all. Didn't she say it hasn't been transfered to her yet?

Also seems where I read somewhere that the bank will set up these special types of accounts up for free. Might be worth it to call the bank and ask if they offer a type of trust account that she could add the kids to.

Just a thought.

Tuit

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Some serious advice needed..please

It is only fraudulent conversion if you transfer assets out of your name. It is NOT fraudulent cvonversion if you avod having them transferred INTO your name. If you're gong to give legal advice, at least get it right.

 

Re: Re: Re: Some serious advice needed..please

I don't claim to be an expert, but I did work for the IRS as a Collector. We did do property checks when looking for taxpayers, and can and would file a lien against any real property associated with you and your social security number. As far as a judgment is concerned, a company can get a judgment once you are served and believe me, there are some search engines and services that can find you no matter what. Once they find you, they will go to whatever means to serve you. For $75k, they are going to look hard. Once served, a judgment is served, no response in 30 days, they can and will file an abstract of judgment, this is essentially a lien against any real property that you have. It will show against the property when and if you go for a re-fi or to sell the property.

I agree with the post of consulting with a bk attorney. I went to one and he said that my debts were under what a bk is usually used for. ($2k)

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Some serious advice needed..please

Well, as far as I am concerned what you have said above is what makes the most sense to me. And that is all I have to go on. Just what makes the most sense to me. And I don't care who is the subject of conversation, in the end more decisions are made on what makes common sense is in the eyes of the person who has to make the decision for himself than not. And often times on the spur of the moment, right, wrong or indifferent.

And in my mind her having made a decision that is obviously in the best interests of her kids and their future can hardly be viewed as an attempt to defraud. If someone is going to defraud another then the defrauder usually has to be seen as committing the act in their own interests and not those of another.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Some serious advice needed..please

I see- so in your opinion Mr. B. a scheme to transfer assets to minor children instead of transferring them to the debtor mother gets your "stamp of approval" because it is not in HER interest?? Do you give a "get out of jail free card" with your advice?

It makes no difference if she had a direct transfer to the kids of the house or other assets, they are minors, and presumably in her custody and control.Your dumb and dumber schemes would put her in jail.

Here is a link to an explanation of how the REAL WORLD works.

http://www.solvency.com/fraudule.htm