Need advice Florida

[bkpain]

Well I guess I'll start by saying 4 years ago I was debt free except my house. I tried to expand my business, sold my house, got married and was rolling in money from the housing boom. Well, we all know what happened to that so this is where I stand. Thinking of filing solo my husband only has 11k in cc debt. I have $52k cc debt, together we have $149k HELOC but my name is not on the 1st or the deed, 08 car I am the co-signer on but my hubby is the 1st (we plan on keeping this if possible), 2001 ford w/ 200k miles (titled to me) we paid $3500 for 2 months ago that I use for work. Our stocks which are only worth $3k right now are both of ours but only my name on the account. 2001 boat titled to me but really it's my husbands we put it in my name because I could get a better interest rate we owe around $25k worth about $35k?? A 1993 car w/ 165k that was bought for my son to fix up and we had planned on putting the title in his name, but don't want to raise any red flags currently its in parts and not running. I own a small business s-corp (service oriented) that I am co-signer car loans for, it doesnt have alot of assets but a few cars are paid for but are used daily for the business. I am filing personal only.

Now that you know the details here's my questions

1) Since I am filing solo how do they look at household goods?
2) My husband wants to keep his boat but with it being titled to me is that even possible?
3) We never thought about the way we set up titles or accounts because this wasn't even on our radar, how does the trustee decide what's ours vs his vs mine??
4) Can I/ Should I add his name to the stock account? Or other accounts/titles?
5) Are my business assets safe? No recent transfer or anything like that?
6) My son's car? He just got it in October and I would die if they took it away from him. He's working to hard and my parents and his dad have helped pay for parts.
7) When to file?? Only behind on 1 but can't even make minimum payments this month. I have been slowly selling stocks to make mortgages/bills.
8) We plan on staying in the house for now and hoping to negotiate w/ the HELOC bank after my BK. but if they won't budge we are willing to walk away from the house. How long after my BK to they start hounding my husband?

Sorry to be so long winded I'm just overwhelmed!! I'm sure I'll have more questions later

[DeadManCrawling]

I do not know the answers for a single but married filer.

I wanted to welcome you to the forum and bump this to the top in case others have asnwers but haven't yet seen the post.

Good luck,

-dmc

[bkpain]

Thanks DMC! Maybe I asked too many questions. I've been a lurker and have had 1 consulte so far I need to have another but I'd rather just stick my head in the sand til after the holidays lol

[AngelinaCat]

Welcome to the Forum. You are among friends here.

You certainly can file singly, but your husband's income will be factored into the household's income. Your son's car is 'his' and not 'yours' per se, but how it is looked at depends in part on the district you are in.

Breathe easy until after the holidays. You really won't be doing anything before the first of the year anyway except getting yourself educated and likely it will be several months before you file, if in fact you do decide to file.

I suggest getting yourselves an early Christmas present: the book by NOLO Press on filing Chapter 7. It has been newly updated for 2010 and you can purchase it online and download a PDF version for about $17.00. This book is written in plain English and will help answer all sorts of question like yours. Here is a link to it:

http://www.nolo.com/control/product/~product_id=HFB%20/~product_name=how-to-file-for-chapter-7-bankruptcy

Good luck to you!

[bkpain]

Thanks! We are in the Orlando area.

[2Bshinyandnew]

well i guess i'll start by saying 4 years ago i was debt free except my house. I tried to expand my business, sold my house, got married and was rolling in money from the housing boom. Well, we all know what happened to that so this is where i stand. Thinking of filing solo my husband only has 11k in cc debt. I have $52k cc debt, together we have $149k heloc but my name is not on the 1st or the deed, 08 car i am the co-signer on but my hubby is the 1st (we plan on keeping this if possible), 2001 ford w/ 200k miles (titled to me) we paid $3500 for 2 months ago that i use for work. Our stocks which are only worth $3k right now are both of ours but only my name on the account. 2001 boat titled to me but really it's my husbands we put it in my name because i could get a better interest rate we owe around $25k worth about $35k?? A 1993 car w/ 165k that was bought for my son to fix up and we had planned on putting the title in his name, but don't want to raise any red flags currently its in parts and not running. I own a small business s-corp (service oriented) that i am co-signer car loans for, it doesnt have alot of assets but a few cars are paid for but are used daily for the business. I am filing personal only.

Now that you know the details here's my questions

1) since i am filing solo how do they look at household goods? real property in florida owned by a married couple could be exempted using the statute that identifies property as being held as tenancy by the entireties. Personal property however i'm not sure how that would work as far as exempting it and the proper statutory exemption that would be used. I would ask the next lawyer you consult. There is a right way to do this.[/u]

2) my husband wants to keep his boat but with it being titled to me is that even possible?probably not. The title is the driving instrument as far as ownership. If you are on the title of a boat and it has equity, you probably won't be able to keep it.

3) we never thought about the way we set up titles or accounts because this wasn't even on our radar, how does the trustee decide what's ours vs his vs mine?? see my answer to question 1

4) can i/ should i add his name to the stock account? Or other accounts/titles?i'm not a lawyer, but what i have learned that any sort of title change made before bankruptcy, even as far as 2 years back will be scrutinized. Changing titles, adding/deleting account owners is a pre-bankruptcy no-no, unless you are working with an attorney and doing some pre-bankruptcy planning. Really, only an attorney wil know for sure what is permissible and what is not

5) are my business assets safe? No recent transfer or anything like that?not sure on that, maybe someone with more knowledge than i can answer

6) my son's car? He just got it in october and i would die if they took it away from him. He's working to hard and my parents and his dad have helped pay for parts.how is your son's car titled? If your name is on the title you may have problems. My daughter's car was titled in my name until last year. She borrowed money from family and "bought" the car from me for fair market value. I used the proceeds of the sale to pay necessary stuff, like my mortgage, etc. I kept a very careful record of the transaction. Otherwise, i will not be able to exempt the car when i file bk.

7) when to file?? Only behind on 1 but can't even make minimum payments this month. I have been slowly selling stocks to make mortgages/bills.are the stocks you are selling funds that would otherwise be exempt, such as from an ira? If so, i would stop using these funds.when to file depends on what chapter you are filing, and how comfortable you are dealing with collection agencies. File when you are sure you have all your ducks in a row. Bankruptcy is rarely an emergency

8) we plan on staying in the house for now and hoping to negotiate w/ the heloc bank after my bk. But if they won't budge we are willing to walk away from the house. How long after my bk to they start hounding my husband?do you have any equity in the house? If no, you may be better off if you stop paying your mortgages, and live in the property rent free until the bank forecloses and sells. This could take anywhere from 9 to 18 months, maybe even longer! They will start hounding your husband for any debts he is legally obligated to pay right away. Why not file together if that is the case? It would simplify the case and you would both get a fresh start, together. If your husband is a co borrower on the heloc,, it would probably be best to file together.

sorry to be so long winded i'm just overwhelmed!! I'm sure i'll have more questions later

111

[bkpain]

The first atty we met with said not to file together since he only has 11k in unsecured debt and there are questions on how it would effect his state license

The stocks are NOT held in an IRA

Regarding the boat can my other half removes "HIS" electronics that he paid for? If he removes "his" private property the boat is worth less or equal to what we owe on it. I know it sounds selfish to try to keep it but going out on the wateris the only thing that keeps us sane.

Discover is who I am currently late on, man they don't mess around. My payment was due the 6th and they are already calling 6-10 times a day on my cell and work number!!