About to file, a few surprises on credit report. Help!

[Movingon2010]

Im thinking of filing and if I do I have to act pretty quick. Im filing pro se.
My debt is straight forward. No mortgage, I rent. I just checked my credit reports and A LOT of debt that I had in my younger years has fallen off. Should I still include them on the bk 7? I have some hospital bills that havent hit yet that I need to add. I have about 10,000 in bad debt which includes 2 judgments totaling $6000. One is trying to garnishy my bank account and wages and I cant afford it. I am seperated and have been for over a year. Another surprise on the credit report is that my cap one auto loan shows paid as agreed and I am just catching up and have paid late many times in the past. Its great that they are reporting well but knowing my situation it would be nice to have a safety net if I cant pay in the future. I was planning on including them in the bk7 as well and do a ride through and continue to pay on it. My soon to be ex is the coborrower and doent give me a dime towards the vehicle. I figure they wont even try to repo if they have ex to go after if need be and I pay on time. I owe about $16,000 on the car and the value of the car and the KBB value is 15,000. I just think it would be best to include all debt but does it matter how little my debt is if I pass the means test?
Will cap one be willing to give me a loan in the future if I included them in BK but continue to pay as agreed. Even with the positive trade line of cap one my credit score is only around 500.

[frogger]

If you're going to file, stop paying everything that is not secured debt. As to listing creditors, list all of them. Old ones, new ones, out of date ones, even the kitchen sink. List them all....

[Clabbergirl]

I agree with frogger - if you're about to file stop paying unsecured debt and bank that money for survival once the BK dust settles. I'm sorry you're in this predicament, but I must ask you about the ex. If you're planning to divorce, file BK FIRST. Anything you and your ex are joint on, cosigned on, will become marital debt and will be divvied up in the divorce paperwork. If you are ordered to pay debts X and Y in the divorce, the Chp 7 will wipe that out, BUT if ex cosigned then the creditors will go after him. He can then come after you in either civil court (for contempt of the divorce decree) or for monetary damages if he manages to pay off the creditors. Marriages you can dissolve, cosigning, you can't. I wish I'd known this when I was split from the ex...I would've filed before, not after.

That being said, include everyone you owe money too. I even included a family member who forgave me of my debts a few years back just because. Wipe your financial slate as clean as you can.

[tcreegan]

Hi movingon2010,

Should I still include them on the bk 7? ....yes

best to include all debt ....required, list all debt

some hospital bills that havent hit yet that I need to add ....and most medical debt doesn't get reported to credit bureaus b/c of privacy laws. Don't go by the credit report for medical bills, use the bills that come in the mail.

but does it matter how little my debt is if I pass the means test? ...nope

I was planning on including them in the bk7 as well and do a ride through and continue to pay on it. ....good plan, do NOT reaffirm. Once you are discharged, you can drive and pay until you decide to drive and not pay...then they will go after your ex.

credit report is that my cap one auto loan shows paid as agreed ....never rely on credit reports, consider them "informational only" They aren't legal documents, just a bit of polite fiction. Paid as agreed on the report doesn't mean you are actually paid as agreed. Cap1 could change the report to include all the lates and delinquency Or they could report it "included in BK" Or they can leave it "paid as agreed" Or they can...oh well, you get the point...

Will cap one be willing to give me a loan in the future ....oh, you betcha! The only question will be at what interest rate...

my credit score is only around 500. .....the good news is that you can only go so low in credit scores. You might be one of the folks whose score actually goes up when filing BK. Your debt-to-income ratio will be great!

Im filing pro se .....do you have the NOLO book? www.nolo.com Step-by-step guide to filing BK. And go to your BK court website, look for a couple things, a "how to file w/o and attorney" and the "local rules" (some courts use their own version of forms, have a cover sheet, want things is a specific way, these are covered in the local rules) 99% of the local rules won't apply to you, but find 'how to format the creditors matrix' that is important. Also what documents are to be filed and in what order. The court clerk is a pro-se filers best friend, so to keep them happy ask how they want documents holepunched and fastened.

And of course, there are lots of good hearted and experienced folks here to help out!!

Tom in Colo

[Movingon2010]

teegan,

Thank you Thank you Thank you! You took the time to answer everyone one of my questions and I truley appreciate that. I feel so much better now that all my questions are answered. Esp on my Cap one ride through plan etc. I went out and bought the nolo book on Tuesday and have been going through it. The truth is my situation is pretty easy compared to most here. The book is straight forward and I dont think I will have too much trouble filling out the paperwork which I plan to do this weekend. Iwill go to the courthouse and file first thing Monday morning!

[Movingon2010]

Thank you Clabber! I think I am going to include ex's name on list of creditors just because I dont trust what he will do in the divorce. I want to make it so we have nothing to fight about. (we already have a custody and child support agreement) Just give me my divorce and let it be.