In need of advice very badly!

[BrodyFL]

Hello,

I am so happy I found this place it seemed that when I would search for bankruptcy online I would get ads for lawyers and not genuine places where I can get some help from people who are going through or have been through this...

Here is my situation. I am 28 and live in FL (moved from minnesota last october) UNFORTUNATELY, I have not always been remotely smart about money and now 10 years after getting my first credit card I recently looked at my credit report and have 28 total negatives and 1 positive. Granted a handful of debts are 300.00 for a cell phone, 200 for comcast etc. I unfortunately do have a rather large portion of medical debt which I will definately not be able to pay off anytime soon (25k) and I recently had a vehicle repossessed (5k). In total adding everything up on my experian report I estimate my debt is probably 50k give or take....

I currently am on SSDI (Social Security Disability) I don't make near what I used to make and Medical debt continues to pile up and I am sure that the debt that has not reached collections is substantial. Also, I do have a considerable IRS tax debt and 2 years of unfiled taxes (health issues/general nervousness and anxiety pushed me to not file) The IRS has filed a few returns for me and I estimate the tax debt to be pretty substantial due to penalities and interest.

Right now, I barely am able to make it living with my parents, I get collection letters/ calls on a daily basis and even with the current situation I am in obviously they never seem to care and I just can't stand it anymore.

Things I do know...
IRS has said that in my case most penalties can be waived because of the hardship status that I would fall into.

Questions I have...

1. Judging from the small sampling above.. what is the best solution for me?
2. How long did all the proceedings take when you went through them (start to finish)

Really I feel horrible about all of this and the worst part is I would love to see an attorney but that is the other thing that I have no idea how I am going to afford. I just really want to start getting my life back.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Brody

[BigJohn]

I don't think there is anything creditors can do. Just file the bills.

[StartingOver08]

Most importantly, file your tax returns, even if you do not have the funds to pay. You can work out a payment arrangement with the IRS for tax due, if any.

Keep reading this forum for ideas about your situation and feel free to ask questions. Sometimes filing is not the right thing to do now, but may be the right thing to do in your future when you begin to get on your feet again. Taxes are dischargeable after a certain time period, but they must be filed and meet certain criteria. Check the sticky that HHM has put together describing the criteria for discharging taxes.

Don't worry about your credit report right now. Keep your records of debts so if you file, you have the information you need. If you don't file, you have the information to settle with the creditors at a future date (sometimes this works for certain types of debt). The CA's and JDB's should be last on your list.

[frogger]

If your on SSI, you're pretty much judgement proof. You can probably just wait for the stats to run out. As to your credit report... why worry about it?

[hereforinfo]

I agree with the others, don't waste the money to file. They can't do anything to collect, and it sounds like most of the debts will eventually go away via the statute of limitations, usually 4-5 years. Don't talk to the collectors and don't ever promise to or make a payment, which could potentially restart the clock. Just write them all a cease and desist letter (google for a sample) and change your phone number, then ride out the SOL. Negatives should fall off your credit report after 7 years.

[BrodyFL]

Thanks for the great advice thus far!

So really my situation is not nearly as bad as it appears to me?

On a priority scale I understand that 1st priority should be filing all tax returns for missing years.

I looked at my negatives again here is a brief table...

2002 - 2 negs
2003 - 1 neg
2004 - 4 negs
2005 - 8 negs (med issues started)
2006 - 4 negs
2007 - 3 negs
2008 - 2 negs
2009 - 5 negs (repo resulted in 2 negatives)

I also noticed a funny thing about people that "pull" my credit, Wachovia which is a bank that I USED TO bank with pulled my report recently (july 2009) and they stated "Automated Credit Pull Q3" and I have NO IDEA why they would do that, I don't believe I owe them anything and I have not done any business with them since 2007.

Doing the double take of the report really only 4 big debts stand out... Car repo and 3 medical debts in excess of 10k. (earliest is 2005)

So the best thing to do is try to stay on the straight and narrow and don't do anything credit related and let them drop off?

Thanks again for the feedback and advice!

P.S. I am not trying to be repetitive, I am just struggling and this is a giant cloud hanging over my head and worrying about money, bills and health can wear on a person

Have a great day!

[hereforinfo]

Yeah, don't worry about the credit report for now. It will heal itself over time. As for the debt, they can't do anything to you so focus on making yourself healthy and don't stress over that stuff. Are you eligible for medicaid or any type of state assistance for your medical needs?

Definitely file your taxes though, and if you can swing it have a tax professional look over everything for you, including the returns that the IRS filed for you. It's possible there are deductions and/or tax credits that you could have used to offset the income, and the IRS may not have been aware of them so they weren't factored into those returns. You may owe less than they have calculated or maybe they owe you! When it's all said and done, if you do owe you can hopefully be eligible for a hardship payment plan.

[BrodyFL]

Yeah, don't worry about the credit report for now. It will heal itself over time. As for the debt, they can't do anything to you so focus on making yourself healthy and don't stress over that stuff. Are you eligible for medicaid or any type of state assistance for your medical needs?

Definitely file your taxes though, and if you can swing it have a tax professional look over everything for you, including the returns that the IRS filed for you. It's possible there are deductions and/or tax credits that you could have used to offset the income, and the IRS may not have been aware of them so they weren't factored into those returns. You may owe less than they have calculated or maybe they owe you! When it's all said and done, if you do owe you can hopefully be eligible for a hardship payment plan.

As strange as it may seem I currently do not qualify for any medicaid/medicare program, I was on LTD with my previous employer and was approved for SSDI back in Jan.

I wish I could afford a good tax attorney, so far from what the IRS has sent me I am in the red about 14-16k but those were returns they filed and out of all of that easily 3-6k was penalties/fees which I have been told can be waived depending on circumstances. I guess the only thing that will screw me is interest.

Thanks for the quick reply, I am trying to get a new lease on life and being in a good sound situation financially will be a huge step in the right direction.

Any other advice or feedback just keep it coming! Thanks so much