About to file ch 13_ please help

[deadbroke99]

ok here it goes-my story.

My husband and I built a house while trying to sell our old house. The old house did not sell so I made a deal with an investor to make the payments on the old house and he keeps all the profit when he finds a buyer who will rent to own. Now he is paying late every month and I want to file bankruptcy and just get the old house out of the picture and let the mortgage company have it back. We owe about 50,000 in credit cards. I am also in school and work full time. I have two questions I need help with.
1) Since I am in school, if I file, will the Federal Student Loan corp still keep approving new loans every school year?
2) My brother in law and his daughter just moved in with us. He is going thru a divorce and has plenty of debts of his own. He had no where to go so we let him move in for awhile. We are not charging him anything because he can't afford to pay anything. How will this effect our bankruptcy? Will they use his income to include with ours? He buys his own food when he eats out but when I cook most nights , he and his daughter eats with us. How do I count this?

I have not consulted with an attorney yet and I know that I need to do that but I am wanting some answers before I decide to file. We are drowning in credit card debt and I am sooo stressed.
Please help, I need some advice!

[Bandit]

Question number 1 is a great question that I would also like to know about.

I would not even bring up question number two again. Your brother wont have anything to do with your bankruptcy (unless you owe him a bunch of money as a creditor).

[rrockinggramma]

Actually her brother's income would be counted but then all of his debts would be backed out so it probably would be a wash, but the OP needs to include him because her "household size" is influenced by the IRS figures. This saves her monthly disposable money, I believe (food, utilities etc for extra people)

As to the federal student loans, supposedly they cannot deny due to BK however if these loans are credit driven, like the PLUS loan etc, then you might have an issue. The guaranteed loans like stafford are suppose to NOT be influenced by BK. With the current credit environment and student loan monies drying up all over the place, any hint of financial difficulty might cause them to be gun shy. Your best bet here would be to perhaps cut back on school to just 1 or 2 classes that you can afford to pay the tuition for on your own. Some schools are reluctant to lend while you are in a chapter 13 AND some school expenses will NOT count in your monthly totals.

[Flamingo]

1. Go to your financial aid office at your school (or call them), explain the situation and see what they say. They go through this all the time. You should not have a problem with Stafford Loans. You can forget about any private loans as things are bad now and lending has basically dried up for everyone, excellent credit included.

2. Iffy situation here...sounds like he is now part of your household since he is living with you and living rent free. IRS rules state that if you provide over 50% of support for a person and they live with you for more than six months out of the year, you can claim them as a dependent. He may fall, along with his child, in that category. When you consult with an attorney, make sure you bring up this situation and get the correct advice for your particular situation since this is a household determination matter and your brother-in-law owes you a big thank you for what you are doing...

[deadbroke99]

Thanks. I am not providing any support for him or his daughter except letting him live here free until he gets out of his own mess. He eats dinner with us when I cook, that is all the support we are providing. He makes good money but due to the divorce he is going thru he has nothing to show for it so I don't think that I can claim them as I am not providing anything other than a roof and an occasional hot meal. As soon as his divorce is over with, he is moving out.