Big Decision, husband file ch7 alone, or joint filing of ch13. Confused

[murphsmom]

A very long story in a nutshell:

Husband has $40,000 in CC debt
$2000 debt for a returned car, threatening to sue us
He qualifies for Chapter 7

I have $22,000 in debt
(11,000 debt consolidation loan, $10,000 credit cards, same bank holds both)
I will not file ch 7, my name on mothers house deed and this potentially is too big an issue to deal with.

Meeting with attorney tomorrow to discuss options. After reading some of these threads I'm VERY worried about a joint 13 case, seems like hell having to deal with the trustee for 5 years.

I'm thinking that if the monthly payoff to a trustee in a 13 is anywhere near my 2 combined current debt payments, we'd be better off NOT filing 13. Husband files 7 to (hopefully) discharge his debt, and I do my best to pay my $22,000 off.

Hopefully the attorney will have some numbers for us tomorrow. It's going to have to be a pretty substantial difference between my current payments and what the monthly payment to the trustee would be if we filed 13 together, in order for me to go forward with this.

Wish me luck...

[lrprn]

You really can't tell what your best options are going to be before an experienced bk attorney puts your financial figures into the Means Test to see how much (if any) disposable income there is with every combination of the two of you filing together or separately.

Your debt amounts really don't matter. What matters is disposable income *as calculated by the Means Test and (if necessary) Schedules*. There have been several members here with income in six figures who were still able to successfully file Ch 7 because their Means Tests showed they did not have enough disposable income to support a Ch 13 plan.

Your best bet is to set up at least 3-4 initial consultations (usually free) with experienced bk lawyers in your area that frequently file both Ch 7 and Ch 13 cases. You'll get a good idea about what's going to work best in your situation. Be sure to share about your name being on your mother's house deed. That's important. Is there equity in the home?

Hang in there. Go get some knowledgeable legal opinions and then let us know what you find out. Good luck!

[shark66]

If your name is on your mother's house deed, I could see that being an issue in Ch. 13 and not only in Ch. 7

What's your housing situation? Mortgage? Rent?

Good luck.

[debee]

OP was recently titled as a 1/2 remainderman of her Mom's Life Estate. The value of her interest is calculated using the IRS actuarial tables and percentages. We ran it in another thread and got just over 10K.

The thread is here: http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...-ch-7-problems