Please help me with some advise. This is my first time at this site so please forgive me if this has been asked before, or is addressed elsewhere. I am a single parent and have gotten way over my head in debt ($30,000 in credit card bills, some with limits of $7,000, $6,000, $4,000, and some as low as $1200). I have been able to make the minimum payments thus far by charging more each month than I was paying. I literally charged groceries, gas, clothes, even utility bills. I never spent cash for anything because I needed my cash to make credit card payments. Now all the cards are maxed out and I can either pay the credit card companies or buy groceries. I think you know which I have to choose. I see no way out except for bankruptcy. My minimum payments on the cards is half my take home pay, my house payment is almost half, that leaves me with nothing to live on. However I am very afraid of bankruptcy. I have managed to pay my car off, and though my belongings are not expensive, they are all I have, and I am afraid of losing my car or my child's toys or my furniture (yard sale quality in my eyes, but what if the courts say they are antiques because they are so old?). Can anyone tell me what I stand to lose if I file bankruptcy or on the other hand, what is likely to happen to me if I just can't pay my bills but don't file? I have been at the same job for 12 years, the same address for 11, and have direct deposit of my paycheck. Can and will the credit card giants garnish my wages since I am such a stable person? And if they do, how much can they take and can I be fired because of it? Is there anything else they can do to me besides garnishment? Thank you so much for replying, I'm terrified here. I've worked hard to make a good home for my daughter, I just never should have done it on credit. I realize that now. Thanks again.
I know this isn't a bk board, but having filed myself I can offer exactly .02 here! Not everyone loses assets when they file for bankruptcy, if you want to know specifics, see a bankruptcy lawyer for a consultation (some offer a first time free one to go over your details) so you'll know what you would stand to lose if you did file. Bankruptcy law is federal law, but each state has it's own established exemption allowances. What one person may have to give up in one state, another might keep in another state. As you can see, it's hard to tell. Generally they do look at the equity you have in your assets and if that's over your exemption allowance, it could be liquidated depending on if your trustee feels it would be worth it. If not, you'd be able to "buy back" the non exempt part of it and keep your asset. An attorney could explain how this would work for you. Most household items and furniture ends up being exempt and you do value your things on your schedules at basically "yard sale prices". The court is looking for things that could bring in something substantial to pay out to creditors i.e. antiques, collectibles, extra cars etc... I would only suggest filing if you absolutely have no other alternatives. Most people try some kind of CCCS service or try to negotiate themselves before they take that last step. It really should be when there just isn't any other option. Creditors can sue you but they can't get anything if you have nothing for them to take. You'd need to evaluate what would be left if you just took the "do nothing" approach. Sometimes they just "charge off" the debt but that is a cloud over your head too. I don't know all the specifics on the credit end and collections etc. but i'm sure you'll get some good advice on that. Check out mycounsel.com. They have a good bankruptcy section in their legal library section if you just want to do a bit of reading up on the process. I really hope you don't have to file, but if you do, life does go on. Good luck!
Thank you for the reply. I'll check out that site. Can anyone tell me what happened to them when they took the "do nothing" route?
