Need Advice on What to Do

[ejhamilton]

Hello,

I love reading everything in this forum, it's so informative. My husband and I really need advice.

We plan on filing for Chapter 7. His before tax income is around $30,000 per year and I am unemployed. We are both in college as well (thank goodness for stafford loans!)

We have around $30,000 in debt and this includes credit cards, our car($8,000) and the bill we just received today for $10,000. Back in August of 2009, we had recently renewed a lease (with great stupidity), and along with that came a rent increase. I don't know what we were thinking, but things happened and we had to move out of there, we couldn't afford it. They obviously wanted us to pay thousands to get out of the lease, which clearly we did not have. So now they are trying to collect for $10,000 (which includes rent until August 2010.) My 1st issue with this is that I really don't believe this apartment has gone unrented. It was a 1st floor in a prime location. So I'm going out there this weekend to see if someone lives there (because before we left, we already knew of 2 people who wanted it.) Anyways, there is no way in hell we will be able to pay that.

So I am sending them a letter just before the 30 days(and I'll get a delivery confirmation w/signature from USPS), disputing the charges and demanding validation of the debt. That should buy us 60 days I guess.

I'm so afraid that when I file, these people are going to argue about it and try to get us to pay it and then not allow it to be discharged. I can only afford the fees associated with the bankruptcy, nothing else.

I don't know how to handle this. After they validate, should I try to arrange a payment plan, even though I can only scrounge up like $100 a month, which I know they won't accept? I want to do everything I can in the next few months to try and prevent these people from not allowing this thing to be discharged.

Please help me! Any advice is truly appreciated! I'm going crazy

[BKDefender]

I have not yet seen a valid argument that breaking an apartment lease was fraud, thus non-dischargeable. As such, the apartment complex will be hard pressed to find some way to justify their argument that it is fraud and thus non-dischargeable. Honestly I fully expect them to just rollover when you file bankruptcy.
If you actually are about to file bankruptcy, call them and tell them you're about to file bankruptcy. They just sent you a demand letter, normally a precursor to more collections attempts then a lawsuit. If you hire an attorney to represent you in bankruptcy, have the attorney fax a letter of representation to the company trying to collect the money from you so they know you're serious and that it will be a waste of their time to try to collect from you forcefuly.

Also - if you're seriously about to file bankruptcy, it won't hurt to send the DV letter, but don't waste any more brain cells on these people worrying they're going to do something. You're about to straighten them out - savor the moment.

--William