I have been lurking here since January as my husband and I are looking into filing for bankruptcy. We have met with two different attorneys and got some different advice from each of them.
We have $25,000 - $30,000 in cc debt and medical bills, most of which are in my name only. The one cc that is in both of our names has a judgment against us for $7000. We were making payments on 5-6 cc's through a credit counseling agency for the past few years but ran into problems making the payments late last year and couldn't make up payments we missed so we had to drop out of the program. We were barely making a dent in the balances anyway. I've been getting phone calls from creditors but so far have not made any payment agreements and am expecting additional lawsuits to be filed.
My husband and I both work and make a decent living but our monthly expenses are out of control. We rent our home with an option to buy. We have two high car loans and we pay $650 per month for daycare. In addition, we have fallen behind on our utilities several times in the past year and have had to pay $300 - $400 each time to restore service, which sets us back on other things.
My dilemma is this . . .my husband wants to stay out of the bankruptcy because we were hoping to buy the house we are renting. He thinks he can get approved for a mortgage without me. Since most of the cc debt is in my name, he thinks it is best for me to file alone. One attorney we talked to saw no problem with that. The other one questioned why we would do that when at least one debt . . .the $7000 judgment . . .is in both of our names.
Does the Trustee ask for tax returns and bank statements? We have filed taxes jointly since we were married and our bank accounts are in both names. The trustee would see our combined income and I am wondering if a bankruptcy in my name only would even be approved. Can they force my husband to be included, if bankruptcy is what we want to do?
I appreciate any insight any one has to offer. I want to file soon and I just don't know what the outcome will be if I try to file solely. The one attorney didn't seem to think it was a problem.
We have $25,000 - $30,000 in cc debt and medical bills, most of which are in my name only. The one cc that is in both of our names has a judgment against us for $7000. We were making payments on 5-6 cc's through a credit counseling agency for the past few years but ran into problems making the payments late last year and couldn't make up payments we missed so we had to drop out of the program. We were barely making a dent in the balances anyway. I've been getting phone calls from creditors but so far have not made any payment agreements and am expecting additional lawsuits to be filed.
My husband and I both work and make a decent living but our monthly expenses are out of control. We rent our home with an option to buy. We have two high car loans and we pay $650 per month for daycare. In addition, we have fallen behind on our utilities several times in the past year and have had to pay $300 - $400 each time to restore service, which sets us back on other things.
My dilemma is this . . .my husband wants to stay out of the bankruptcy because we were hoping to buy the house we are renting. He thinks he can get approved for a mortgage without me. Since most of the cc debt is in my name, he thinks it is best for me to file alone. One attorney we talked to saw no problem with that. The other one questioned why we would do that when at least one debt . . .the $7000 judgment . . .is in both of our names.
Does the Trustee ask for tax returns and bank statements? We have filed taxes jointly since we were married and our bank accounts are in both names. The trustee would see our combined income and I am wondering if a bankruptcy in my name only would even be approved. Can they force my husband to be included, if bankruptcy is what we want to do?
I appreciate any insight any one has to offer. I want to file soon and I just don't know what the outcome will be if I try to file solely. The one attorney didn't seem to think it was a problem.