Your opinion on My situation!

[Kris T]

I have a tax refund coming here in another month, and am considering using the money to file for CH 7. I have no doubt I would qualify- As of 3 weeks ago, I have no income*, laughable assets (I don't own a home or other big-ticket items, and I have no savings acounts that have not already been used up..), and have been swimming under the same $10,000 +/- debt for several years. Although I am paying off 4 very small credit cards (not one of them has a limit of more than $400), I don't use them anymore and really have no interest in either keeping the accounts or being able to get any more again..ever. Most of my debt comes from utility bills and medical bills, though I am carrying some credit card debt (probably under $1500, including a large chunk to Dell for a computer I needed for work that I stupidly finanaced...). I have gone with my guilt (or stupidity) and tried for a long time to juggle which bill I would pay on each month, but the balls are all dropping now.

I have gone through CCCS for a consultation, but after crunching and recrunching my figures, they could only offer to send me a publication about budgeting- they could not even begin to create any kind of repayment plan with the income that I had at the time (and now there's even less money..).

My credit rating is horrible. Beyond horrible. These collection agencies try to threaten me with "your credit rating will suffer if you don't pay us"...but really- can you kill something that's already dead? I am not concerned with my rating at all (as in, it's about as bad as it can get, so I have very little to worry about when it comes to making it worse...)- I do not have the means or the plans to buy a home or apply for any loans or anything else in the next few years, so in that respect, I am not worried about my numbers.


*I recently resigned from my full time job of 7 years due to the increasing needs of my son, who has autism. Much of the medical debt comes from deductibles and co-pays that my insurance didn't cover.



So..... Would there be any reason for me NOT to file for CH7? Any other options that you think might apply to me?

Thanks.

[keepmine]

$10K is just not enough to file bk over. Also, there is the issue of ongoing medical debts,etc. You don't want to file over a small amount and then, still be unable to support yourself. Do you have health insurance?
Your big problem here is not the debt level but, lack of income.

[BassBoy]

My thoughts exactly keepmine......you beat me to it. Without an income, BK may not help you at this time. And yes, $10K is just not that much to go BK.

[ameliabedilia]

How do you plan on supporting yourself? Do you have any money coming in at all? I am confused.

[genseeker]

Kris, with that little debt you have no reason to file right now. Save it for when you really need it.

As far as your current debts, how familiar are you with your rights relating to bills and collections and credit??? Eventually one of the companie smay try to sue you and you will need to be ready to defend yourself. Try visiting "creditboards" and you can learn how to protect yourself.

I have no idea what type work you do/did but have you looked to see if there is any way to work from home at it? Hopefully you are getting the disability your son is entitled to.

[PaKettle]

Sounds like a tough situation.
But I also do not recommend bankruptcy. One way or the other you're going to have to figure out a way to get income, so work on that end of things for now.

[rrockinggramma]

I am not with the main stream here. For some of us, 10,000 in debt isn't much, but for others it is overwhelming. I think whether or not you file depends a lot on your circumstances. If you are working a minimum wage job and the future doesn't look any brighter, you are having judgements filed against you for the amounts you owe, then I think filing is ok whether you owe a lot or a little. If your tax refund pays off a lot of the debt, then you can do that too. Whether your tax refund is taken by the trustee is determined by local practice. Call attorney's in your area and find out what the local practice is. Then you can decide which way to go.

[coma]

I can see both sides of this, but if you do not have any income or assets, aren't you judgment proof? If you are, I wouldn't file just yet. If you still have medical bills coming in and such, filing now, and not being able to file again for a long time, could put you in a bad position. You have to look at the income/insurance issue. If you discharge what you have now and build up more in about a year, then what will you do? It'll start an endless cycle.

[HHM]

The plain and simple fact...until you have the means to support yourself (i.e. income) such that you meet all your basic living expenses (including future medical bills), then you should NOT file BK.