Ex Wife house in my name, but not mine

[rpaws]

I searched...but did not find.

First off, a sincere thanks. This forum is unique and invaluable. I cannot thank the menbers enough for the contributions I have read here.

I'm a sole proprietor going down.

I have 2 things to work out before I file for C7. I deeply appreciate any input received.


Q1: I have no assets but I have my name on a land and mobile home title. I gave up my share to my ex wife 5 years ago when we divorced. The property is paid in full with no remaining loan.

We are on good terms. I'm the one who walked away from the marriage and our agreement was the person who walks leaves everything behind.

Since then I have never paid the taxes on the property or received any benefit from it. She now rents it out and all rent money goes to her, naturally, because it is hers.

We were both overseas quite a lot and went through a Nevada divorce 5 years ago. Because of our lack of animosity and because we were both in a hurry at the time of divorce we didn't take my name off the title.


Should I list the property as an asset?

What do I need to prepare to avoid having the Trustee or creditors go after her house?


Q2: I am an electrical contractor who has almost no overhead expenses in a sole proprietership business. Because of this the business is always profitable, but in the present economy doesn't pay the bills. I've been paying the bills and rent for some time by charging the electrical materials I need for a job, receiving payment for material and labor and using this cash to barely survive that month. I couldn't outright pay in full for materials in most given months because food and shelter needed to be paid first. All CCs are in good standing but I am stuck paying the minimum every month and this will be unsustainable this winter.

For this reason quite a lot of the items appearing on my credit card statements are electrical supplies. All CC are personal and only one is a business CC.

I only use one bank account for electrical and personal expenses.

How will this be viewed by the Trustee? What complications could arise as I file for a non-business C7? Should I be filing for a personal or business C7?

My business never failed and excessive business overhead never was the cause of our personal financial problems. There was just not enough work out there for a few years.

We, a family of 3, are way below the qualifying income for C7. Can't really afford a Lawyer.

Thanks for any input the readers can offer.

[Dollar Bill]

DO you have a divorce decree showing how the assets etc were divided?

[rpaws]

It was a paper quickly prepared which claims that:


"All of the community assets and property have been previously divided and each is to keep the property they have in their possession at this time"


This is the literal wording on the Nevada divorce decree.

[JRScott]

You'll need to take a copy of that to your lawyer. Be ready to prove that the trailer and land were in her possession as well.

You might ask a lawyer what he thinks, as this can be kinda tricky. I'm afraid if you transferred the deed at this time the Trustee would think you were hiding assets. That's not something you want. The divorce decree and proof that you lived at another residence at the time I think will be enough but check with a lawyer.

You might also need to check and see if any creditors have already put liens against the property or have your ex wife check.

Sorry I don't know much about sole propreitorships.

[rpaws]

Thanks for the feedback. A bit more info on the divorce decree:

The property is located in California. The divorce was in Nevada. On the decree my address is listed as a Nevada address (renting) and her address is at the property in California.

After this time I moved to South America (Peru) for one year and then I moved to the Chicago area. She remained at her house, the property in question. She paid all bills and property taxes on the property. She has rented it out the last 2 years and all rent money is paid to her. My name isn't even on the rental contract.

Once again the decree reads: "All of the community assets and property have been previously divided and each is to keep the property they have in their possession at this time".

She was clearly in possession during the divorce and ever since and I never was in possession for a single day.

All my credit is in good standing now but I'm about to stop paying on all cards any day now, as soon as I feel it is safe to do so. I've basically been living only to service unsecured debt for the last year to the point that my life has become a tragi-comedy. I didn't know about the possibility of BK until recently and have been coping with the fact that I've been reduced to a state of debt-servitude. I used to be a rather proud, independent person and this mounting debt has reduced me to a mental state that I don't even recognize.

I know having my name on the property title is a bit complicated but paying a lawyer now will literally come out of the food budget.


I need to start refusing to pay a single penny more to the CC companies and recover my former self-respect, but I feel I cannot do this until I know these actions won't hurt my ex-wife.

Until I found out about BK and found this forum I felt as if I was going nuts, turning into a......servile coward?

Any other leads, info, offered by the good people here would be wonderfully appreciated.

[woeisme]

Don't mean to be a downer, but I don't think anyone on here is going to be able to say with 100% certainty that there's no way a trustee can go after the ex-wife's property since your name is still on the deed. Your arguement makes sense that this is not your property, and you have some legal standing due to the wording of the divorce decree, but the unfortunate part of BK filings is that it's somewhat of a crapshoot depending on local trustees and how they interpret the law. You could certainly fight the trustee and take it to the judge if it comes to that, but you might want to really rethink trying to go this alone without a lawyer. You can't even voluntarily withdraw a Chapter 7 petition once filed the way you could a Chapter 13, so if this turns south on you and you get a hard-a$$ trustee who really wants your ex-'s property, you definitely want a lawyer representing your (and her) interests. Hope it works out well for you, and the trustee sees the situation the same way you do, but prepare for battle if necessary.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Back at ya

I searched...but did not find.

First off, a sincere thanks. This forum is unique and invaluable. I cannot thank the menbers enough for the contributions I have read here.

I'm a sole proprietor going down.

I have 2 things to work out before I file for C7. I deeply appreciate any input received.


Q1: I have no assets but I have my name on a land and mobile home title. I gave up my share to my ex wife 5 years ago when we divorced. The property is paid in full with no remaining loan.

We are on good terms. I'm the one who walked away from the marriage and our agreement was the person who walks leaves everything behind.

Since then I have never paid the taxes on the property or received any benefit from it. She now rents it out and all rent money goes to her, naturally, because it is hers.

We were both overseas quite a lot and went through a Nevada divorce 5 years ago. Because of our lack of animosity and because we were both in a hurry at the time of divorce we didn't take my name off the title.


Should I list the property as an asset?

What do I need to prepare to avoid having the Trustee or creditors go after her house? A quit claim Deed. Then wait for 6 months.


Q2: I am an electrical contractor who has almost no overhead expenses in a sole proprietership business. Because of this the business is always profitable, but in the present economy doesn't pay the bills. I've been paying the bills and rent for some time by charging the electrical materials I need for a job, receiving payment for material and labor and using this cash to barely survive that month. I couldn't outright pay in full for materials in most given months because food and shelter needed to be paid first. All CCs are in good standing but I am stuck paying the minimum every month and this will be unsustainable this winter. Stop paying them now, but stop using them and use up the materials you have. Hold back no matter how much it hurts, money to purchase the parts for the next job.
For this reason quite a lot of the items appearing on my credit card statements are electrical supplies. All CC are personal and only one is a business CC. You can get away with keeping what you have in stock as it is a "tool" of your trade.

I only use one bank account for electrical and personal expenses.

How will this be viewed by the Trustee? What complications could arise as I file for a non-business C7? Should I be filing for a personal or business C7? As a sole proprieter, you are something like an independent agent or consultant. I would think you would do a personal. The business you stated is not hurting and making money as you are paying the cards. It is you that is not making a profit. Check with lawyer

My business never failed and excessive business overhead never was the cause of our personal financial problems. There was just not enough work out there for a few years. Take a fast trip to Galveston with your licence in hand, and bond in hand and all the parts you can carry. There is plenty of work there. Bring a tent also.

We, a family of 3, are way below the qualifying income for C7. Can't really afford a Lawyer. Purchase the Chapter 7 book from Nolo.com $17.00 in download form. Go pro se.

Thanks for any input the readers can offer. This is why we are here. You are not the only one on the Titanic.

'Hub

[BROKENN]

Hi Rpaws, Welcome!
I can't answer the land issue. I can tell you that you need to get a lawyer. Between the land and your biz, you will need someone on your side. You can stop paying the unsecured debt right away and save some of that for a lawyer.

There are a few sole props here that have gone through some of what you are describing. Your lawyer will have the best answers for you, but I will give a little of what I can.

For this reason quite a lot of the items appearing on my credit card statements are electrical supplies. All CC are personal and only one is a business CC. I don't think it matters if job materials are on your credit cards, our atty didn't care. BUT, you have to not use the CCs for awhile (90 days?) same as any BK.

I only use one bank account for electrical and personal expenses. That's OK. Make your P/Ls, one business and one personal. The business gross minus expenses (one P/L), then income from business minus personal expenses (second P/L).

How will this be viewed by the Trustee? What complications could arise as I file for a non-business C7? Should I be filing for a personal or business C7?I don't think any issue is going to arise with the business end. Too many failing business'. Talk to a lawyer. Since you sound like you hit the means test, he would give you your best solution for you. Many threads here on Business Debtor and the answers have been all over the scale for which they filed.

My business never failed and excessive business overhead never was the cause of our personal financial problems. There was just not enough work out there for a few years. I completely understand Just hang in there and do your homework!

Many lawyers will give you a free consult. You need to plan this out and find out about that property. I think that is the bigger deal here.

[BROKENN]

Hey Hub, I guess we posted at the same time! Good answers, didn't mean to cross yours!

[rpaws]

Hub' posted the following reply:

What do I need to prepare to avoid having the Trustee or creditors go after her house? A quit claim Deed. Then wait for 6 months.

Thanks. The quitclaim deed is in the works. What is the logic behind the 6 month wait? Where did you get that number?

Thanks anyone. Not just a question for 'Hub.