Divorce 1st then BK 7 2cd or........

[TroubleinCalif]

the other way around?

Was planning on 7 then the wife decided to go so she bailed on me and my daughter, took only her car and told me she was movin on (Guess she could not deal with the problem). Also told me that since there were no assets and my daughter will be 18 in 4 months that it will be uncontested and moved out of state. So im wodering now, should i continue with the 7 or do the divorce first and then go 7 after? Man this has been a bad ending to the year...............

[HHM]

Have you already filed the chap. 7, or were simply "planning" on filing.

Best option...

Divorce 1st, BK 2nd.

[TroubleinCalif]

Have you already filed the chap. 7, or were simply "planning" on filing.

Best option...

Divorce 1st, BK 2nd.

Planning stages only. Just went as far as a consultation with a lawyer which was about 3-4 weeks ago.


Thanks

[rrockinggramma]

You should check around with different attorney's. Sounds like your wife will not be contesting property settlements etc. If it really is going to be uncontested, you can do the divorce yourself (We did ours that way) and then filed BK. Took about 30 days to do that here in Michigan. (but we didn't have child support or child etc so that might make it like 60 days??) But if you are sure she won't fight about who gets what or who pays for what, then go ahead and file.

[HHM]

You should check around with different attorney's. Sounds like your wife will not be contesting property settlements etc. If it really is going to be uncontested, you can do the divorce yourself (We did ours that way) and then filed BK. Took about 30 days to do that here in Michigan. (but we didn't have child support or child etc so that might make it like 60 days??) But if you are sure she won't fight about who gets what or who pays for what, then go ahead and file.

True, but it is still a cleaner process to have the Divorce completed BEFORE filing BK. (i.e. so long as the divorce is pending, most trustees will not "close" the BK).

[needafreshstart]

How does your wife feel about bankruptcy and is alot of the debt joint?

HHM, I have to disagree with you somewhat. I am going throught the same issue, my wife filed for divorce, with child support payments there was no way I could pay that as well as my share of debt payments. With the new bankruptcy laws if they get any statement in the divorce decree that the credit assigned to either party is considered domestic support, that very easily becomes non-dischargeable. My divorce attorney knew bankruptcy was going to have to happen. She advised me to consult with several bk attorney's before the divorce was final. Every attorney I spoke to said with the new laws if I was assigned debt in the decree, she could object and all joint debt could be non-dischargeable.

Now if she is planning on bankruptcy and you can get a statement in the decree that states either party is allowed to file bankruptcy, then yes finalize the divorce then do a bankruptcy. I would consult with several attorney's in your area to see what their thoughts are.

[TroubleinCalif]

How does your wife feel about bankruptcy and is alot of the debt joint?
HHM, I have to disagree with you somewhat. I am going throught the same issue, my wife filed for divorce, with child support payments there was no way I could pay that as well as my share of debt payments. With the new bankruptcy laws if they get any statement in the divorce decree that the credit assigned to either party is considered domestic support, that very easily becomes non-dischargeable. My divorce attorney knew bankruptcy was going to have to happen. She advised me to consult with several bk attorney's before the divorce was final. Every attorney I spoke to said with the new laws if I was assigned debt in the decree, she could object and all joint debt could be non-dischargeable.

Now if she is planning on bankruptcy and you can get a statement in the decree that states either party is allowed to file bankruptcy, then yes finalize the divorce then do a bankruptcy. I would consult with several attorney's in your area to see what their thoughts are.

The only joint debt is the vehicle she is driving, The house that will go into forcloser. She does have some CC's that are in her name only but, not sure how that works in calif. She has stated to me that, once the house finaly forcloses and the "Final" bill from the mortgage company comes, then she will file Bk. Thier is no child support, My youngest will be 18 in april 08 and because of that she say's , she dont want any alimony. There is no assests really to split up because we were headed to Bk anyways, Basicly just left everything behind and drove away and went to another state. Basically said to just get the paper work and she will sign it.........


Thanks.....

[HHM]

How does your wife feel about bankruptcy and is alot of the debt joint?

HHM, I have to disagree with you somewhat. I am going throught the same issue, my wife filed for divorce, with child support payments there was no way I could pay that as well as my share of debt payments. With the new bankruptcy laws if they get any statement in the divorce decree that the credit assigned to either party is considered domestic support, that very easily becomes non-dischargeable. My divorce attorney knew bankruptcy was going to have to happen. She advised me to consult with several bk attorney's before the divorce was final. Every attorney I spoke to said with the new laws if I was assigned debt in the decree, she could object and all joint debt could be non-dischargeable.

Now if she is planning on bankruptcy and you can get a statement in the decree that states either party is allowed to file bankruptcy, then yes finalize the divorce then do a bankruptcy. I would consult with several attorney's in your area to see what their thoughts are.

But it's only non-dischargeable vis-a-vis you and your spouse. If you file BK, the debt is still discharged relative to the original creditor. (but, if your spouse is still liable to the original debtor, the spouse needs to file BK, or you have to continue paying).

You are correct, when it comes to "debt" and divorce, there is some logic to filing BK before divorce, but when it comes to assets and divorce, you generally want to divide the assets in divorce BEFORE filing BK.