Joint credit cards w/ no balance - individual BK

[jonance]

Hi,

I am going to file a non-consumer BK to rid myself of some investment property. I have several joint credit cards with my wife that have zero balances. I know i will have to list them in my BK in some way, but my worry is that when I file if they close the card or cancel my wifes credit will be negatively effected. Do you all know if it will? Again there are no balances on any of the cards, but will they cancel them if i file and she isn't? Will it effect her credit? SHould i simply call and cancel the cards to be sure? I'm filing in a few weeks.

[lrprn]

I have several joint credit cards with my wife that have zero balances. I know i will have to list them in my BK in some way, ...

Actually you do not have to list credit cards with zero balances when you file. There's no debt if the balance is indeed zero.

....but my worry is that when I file if they close the card or cancel my wifes credit will be negatively effected. Do you all know if it will?

If the cards in question are major credit cards, they will almost certainly be cancelled, even if you don't list them. The cc companies share info between them and also watch for bk filings. The chances of any of your major credit cards surviving is small. However, sometimes locally based and small business cc's do survive bk. What kinds of cc's are we talking about here?

Again there are no balances on any of the cards, but will they cancel them if i file and she isn't?

Possibly. One question is to ask several knowledgeable bk attorneys during your free initial interviews that since the balances on the shared cc's are zero, should you request to have your name removed from the accounts before filing leaving only your wife's name as sole owner of the card. (There's no fraud involved here removing your name because there's no balances.)

Will it effect her credit?

No, if you are filing bk alone, your wife's credit score will not be impacted. She's not filing, you are. Sometimes errors are made on shared financial accounts, so have her check her credit reports about a month after you file. If she finds any references to bk on her reports, she can dispute them and they will be immediately removed.

SHould i simply call and cancel the cards to be sure? I'm filing in a few weeks.

Again, there's no reason to do this for the cards with zero balance. Ask the bk lawyers during your free initial consultations to be sure, but one thing to consider is that if there's good credit payment history on the cards in question, keeping the cards open and if any do survive your filing, that can help your credit scores recover more quickly after your bk is over.

[aljohnson007]

I think the only way to remove your name from the cards is to close the accounts and have your spouse try and reopen. I had a Visa card with a credit union that survived and has a $5k limit with 8.34% interest rate. All the other major cards, including Sears, were cancelled very sonn after I filed.
Wishing you the best.