I became disabled in January, 2005. SSDI has been approved and will be my only income. My wife is unemployed. Current income is a company short term disability benefit that will end when I receive SSDI. We have supplemented this with proceeds from the sale of our home ($13,000) in March. We have submitted forms to cash in retirement plans (total $3000). The only debt that we have been paying is a monthly auto payment. There is no money, at present, to pay an attorney and my mental state will not allow me to file without one. Should we use part of the $3000 to pay an attorney or continue to ignore the bills? What is the worst thing that could happen? What is the best?
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At this point, I don't think creditors can do much to you, except make your life miserable with relentless phone calls and letters. As you probably know,
they can't touch your SSDI payment but they can still get a judgment. If at some future point, things improve, and you or your wife should go back to
work, creditors could garnish wages or go after your checking account.
My advice here isn't based on personal experience, but rather on a situation a good friend of mine found herself in. Like you, she was receiving SSDI and
neither she nor her husband had worked in years. Thinking they were judgment proof, they ignored the significant amount of debt that had accrued, hoping
it would go way. It didn't.
Many ears later, around seven or eight, my friend received a rather substantial inheritance due to the death of her mom. Let me tell you! As soon as some
of the inheritance money hit the bank, her creditrors were on it like a hot potato! Despite the fact that she wasn't working, her creditors still got
a judgment and they were poised and ready to go at the first sign of money. Creditors are like vultures. They are ready to pounce at any moment.
I don't want to scare you, or give you unwelcome news; but, if I were in your position, I would want to know what could happen. If there's any way you
At this point, I don't think creditors can do much to you, except make your life miserable with relentless phone calls and letters. As you probably know,
they can't touch your SSDI payment but they can still get a judgment. If at some future point, things improve, and you or your wife should go back to
work, creditors could garnish wages or go after your checking account.
My advice here isn't based on personal experience, but rather on a situation a good friend of mine found herself in. Like you, she was receiving SSDI and
neither she nor her husband had worked in years. Thinking they were judgment proof, they ignored the significant amount of debt that had accrued, hoping
it would go way. It didn't.
Many ears later, around seven or eight, my friend received a rather substantial inheritance due to the death of her mom. Let me tell you! As soon as some
of the inheritance money hit the bank, her creditrors were on it like a hot potato! Despite the fact that she wasn't working, her creditors still got
a judgment and they were poised and ready to go at the first sign of money. Creditors are like vultures. They are ready to pounce at any moment.
I don't want to scare you, or give you unwelcome news; but, if I were in your position, I would want to know what could happen. If there's any way you
could come up with the money to file Chapter 7, my advice would be to do it. From what you've told us, your case should be a slamdunk. Filing would give
you a lot more peace, I think and the creditors couldn't touch you. Perhaps there's a Legal Aid group in your area and they could offer some advice.
I wish you the best and I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
could come up with the money to file Chapter 7, my advice would be to do it. From what you've told us, your case should be a slamdunk. Filing would give
you a lot more peace, I think and the creditors couldn't touch you. Perhaps there's a Legal Aid group in your area and they could offer some advice.
I wish you the best and I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. -
My apologies. This was my first reply to a post and I goofed. hehehe And this was after trying to send several times previously. Here's how the original should have read.
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At this point, I don't think creditors can do much to you, except make your life miserable with relentless phone calls and letters. As you probably know,
they can't touch your SSDI payment but they can still get a judgment. If at some future point, things improve, and you or your wife should go back to
work, creditors could garnish wages or go after your checking account.
My advice here isn't based on personal experience, but rather on a situation a good friend of mine found herself in. Like you, she was receiving SSDI and
neither she nor her husband had worked in years. Thinking they were judgment proof, they ignored the significant amount of debt that had accrued, hoping
it would go way. It didn't.
Many ears later, around seven or eight, my friend received a rather substantial inheritance due to the death of her mom. Let me tell you! As soon as some
of the inheritance money hit the bank, her creditrors were on it like a hot potato! Despite the fact that she wasn't working, her creditors still got
a judgment and they were poised and ready to go at the first sign of money. Creditors are like vultures. They are ready to pounce at any moment.
I don't want to scare you, or give you unwelcome news; but, if I were in your position, I would want to know what could happen. If there's any way you
could come up with the money to file Chapter 7, my advice would be to do it. From what you've told us, your case should be a slamdunk. Filing would give
you a lot more peace, I think and the creditors couldn't touch you. Perhaps there's a Legal Aid group in your area and they could offer some advice.
I wish you the best and I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.Comment
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Most likely depends on the state you are in. In Texas it is hard to get wage garnishment(except in extreme circumstances) so most of the time they just go away. In other states you will get sued and judgements will be entered against you. And like the other poster said then they will come after any future income if you suddenly find some. Bankruptcy is the only sure way to make sure nothing comes back on you in the future.Comment
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