Social Worker suggested bankruptcy

Mitzvahmom

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 10:09 am

I met with my social worker to turn in paper work they lost for the 3rd time!!! So I figured in person they cannot "loose" it without looking STUPID.

She asked me how my schooling is going and I said good, thank g-d.. I have a 3.35 GPA. She said impressive.. She wanted to know how my job is going and saw my tax returns.. She said, from your file I see that there are creditors after you, have you thought of filing bankruptcy..

Because right now I am w/in the range where I could apply and wipe out the debt my ex left me with.
When we went to court I told the judge that he is the one that went crazy with my credit cards while I was in shelters trying to pull myself together.

Judge said I have a choice, take my debt (30K) or take his and mine (he claimed he had (70K) and split it down the middle. So I took the 30K obviously, but I have no money to pay it down.

So I am just asking if anyone has experience with this, I mean is it going to ruin things in the future for me?

chocolate moose

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 10:19 am

Consult with an attorney. It ight be an option for you.

We also had debts and paid them down, and coulnt buy an apt until we were inour 40's. Our friends who DID diclare bankr. all had homes much much earlier ....

shalhevet

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 10:26 am

It's not just a financial question, it's a halachic question too. Basically it means you are leaving the people you (or your ex Confused

- maybe halachically he has to take care of it and it doesn't concern you ) owe money too, without paying them back.

greenfire

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 10:33 am

filing bankruptcy has many detailed facets ... look it up on line for your states specifics ... while you may be free of debt - so to speak, there are certain things you wouldn't want to lose ... you won't be able to have a credit card or buy a house for some years ... or if you own tangible property such as a house or car - you could lose those in the process ... you gotta read the fine print ... bankruptcy is not for everybody ...

Clarissa

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 10:59 am

I have a friend who declared bankruptcy. It was a drag but she was able to get back on her feet again, and now has very good credit, owns an apartment and is supporting a child on her own. I don't remember how it worked with getting credit cards right after it happened.

TwinsMommy

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 1:21 pm

student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.

That's kind of surprising that there's no halachic problem with bankruptcy, no? What's to stop people from abusing the system, taking out credit cards they have no way of paying back, running them up, and then bailing out?

In your case, 30K is not a huge amount of debt---- bankruptcy probably isn't worth it for you. You ended up with YOUR debt.... had you ended up with your husband's debt too, I'd feel VERY cheated and wronged, and I'd be wondering about bankruptcy but if you got out of the marriage simply with a lot of your own debt that YOU took on, I wouldn't ruin your credit---- get a good job and pay it down bit by bit. Lots of credit cards will take lower minimum payments for a while.

I'm the queen of debt--- we make a good income but from past mistakes (living in Los Angeles!) have $200,000 of debt--- a lot of it is student loans--- we both got masters degrees which was a DUMB decision for us, truly.

Mitzvahmom

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 1:37 pm

I guess my greatest concern is that if/when I get married.

It's not something u want your new husband to have to deal with your old debt from your ex husband. Anyway I am going to talk to a friend of mine that is an attorney and let them advise me.

BTW as for the new better paying job...

Quote:

She asked me how my schooling is going and I said good, thank g-d.. I have a 3.35 GPA.

I am currently applying to nursing schools... = good paying job

chocolate moose

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 2:02 pm

TwinsMommy wrote:

I understand that student loans CAN, but if a person cnsulted with a bankrupty attorney then went & bought a lot of things on their card, that's not forgiveable.

The laws change so mine could be outdated infomation.

TwinsMommy

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 2:10 pm

I know nothing about chapter 13 but in chapter 7 (we have friends who went through it) student loans cannot be discharged. Cars and furniture can be discharged but then the cars or furniture are repossesed. To avoid that, one needs to "reaffirm" those debts and keep paying them. So really the only debt that gets discharged without anything being taken away is credit card debt.

Barbara

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 2:12 pm

Please, please talk to a reputable bankruptcy attorney, particularly one specializing in Chapter 13 bankruptcies. Many will offer free or low cost initial consultations. There are simply too many things that you have to consider, including which debts are not dischargable and which are, to do this without guidance. There are also non-profit consumer credit consulting agencies that might be able to help you to consolidate debts, reduce interest fees, or something else that might be helpful.

IIRC, you've also mentioned going out on shidduch dates. This *really* isn't my world. As I understand it, though, men reject women for a plethora of silly reasons. I'd therefore advise talking to a shadchan, or someone else who is familiar with that world, to see if declaring bankruptcy is going to forever label you as a bad marriage prospect.

chavamom

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 2:16 pm

Disclaimer, I only know this from having worked on editing a "rebuilding your credit" book YEARS ago.

RE: credit cards. Post bankruptcy you can get a "secured" credit card, where you have an amount of money in an account that the amount you "charge" is then deducted from each month. The main use is for situations that require a credit card and it does help you rebuild a solid credit pattern at the same time.

chocolate moose

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 2:19 pm

TwinsMommy wrote:

I know nothing about chapter 13 but in chapter 7 (we have friends who went through it) student loans cannot be discharged.

and our friends DID get their student loans discharged of record.

shanie5

Thu, Jan 17 2008, 2:52 pm

I know s/o who declared bankruptcy twice-many years apart. They still have their vehicles, house (though that is in anothers name for other reasons), and have credit cards too. since the law is/was that you can only declare bankruptcy every 7 years, credit card companies dont seem to mind giving high interest rate cards to recent bankrupt people.

but this is all my observations/assumptions-not firsthand knowledge or even talking to them about it/

in other words, just yentaish.......