Filing after new law and separation

[lettinggo]

My husband and I are separating and we are needing to file for bankruptcy. Our home is currently in foreclosure and we want it to go away. We are willing to repay some of our debt, but we aren't sure if they will let us or what we will get to keep or get rid of. We currently have a car and we owe money on it and would like to keep it. We also have one credit card with a balance of $2000 and a few medical bills totaling $1500.00. Not a ton of debt, but enough that we can't afford this right now. Please advise

[StaciMM]

I'd recommend first & foremost sit down w/ an attorney. Foreclosure can often take a long time, though it varies by state.

I'm not sure if you would be filing together, or separately. Guess it depends on your post-separation living arrangements. (If you file together, you can't claim 2 rents, 2 sets of utility bills, etc.)

[lettinggo]

We are going to be living in separate places and paying two different rents, utilties, etc. The house is currently in both of our names as well as the car. The medical bills are under my name only as well as a credit card. Would we be able to file separate?

If our house is foreclosed on do we owe the mortgage company the difference of what they sold it for?

[Lightning]

Have you tried selling the house? Filing bankruptcy with only a mortgage, a car loan (which you want to reaffirm), and $3,500 in unsecured debt doesn't seem to make sense.

[lettinggo]

We have not tried selling the house. We cannot make the payments and live elsewhere right now. We are currently on a repayment plan with the mortgage company. The houses in my neighborhood aren't selling very fast and for asking price. Obviously we wouldn't ask more than what we need to just get out of it and not make anything off of it.

That is why we would like to reaffirm the car and other bills if possible and just let the house go.

[StaciMM]

If you are legally separated and otherwise qualify, you should be able to file BK separately.

If you file BK, you would be able to discharge any deficiency amount left over from the house. Since at this point you don't know if there will be a balance left over, its a bit early to decide to file. Instead, get things squared away w/ the separation. Since filing is a possibility, don't use your credit card for anything major. I don't know (under the new/current laws) how closely they look at little charges but I'm sure they'll closely examine anything big.