Should my Other Half File?

[BrokeinMD]

Hi All - Here's my Sig Other's situation.

He has mostly been out of work full-time since June 2010. He had two part-time jobs, one that was seasonal, so he scraped up some meager wages for three months. He is a horrible record keeper and I think I may be able to find one or two paystubs from that time. He has, however, all his tax records, so we have the W-2s from that period. Will the BK Court accept that, or should we wait to collect some stubs under his new job?

He has about 10 grand between medical debt (back pain issues) and a hefty tool bill. He sold the tools while unemployed. No assets for him, everything is in my name, as he's had crappy credit since his 20s from ancient charged off debts. His new job supplies the tools and is now starting out at 10.00hr while he's in training, but he should eventually move up in salary after his probationary period and receive commission.

Now that I received my fresh start, and he now has some income to contribute, but will have to continue to treat his back, and help with his share of household expenses, should he file now and suck it up and pay towards the 10 grand, and his continued medical expenses while he's waiting for insurance, or should he file and start fresh, too? If so, should we wait to get some paystubs under his belt? I'm thinking it would be wiser to invest the $1,800 for an attorney and wipe it out since his credit was in the crapper anyway, rather than us both struggling to pay off the debt for a period of time. I would appreciate input on this.

[oregonpilot]

AWESOME Broke ... i see you have a closed in your sig. SWEET!!!

[BrokeinMD]

Hi Oregon - Yep, just saw it on Pacer today! Thank you! That's a relief, now looking to clean up the rest of the house!

[oregonpilot]

Cleaning things out seems to be such a cleansing thing. I love doing it.
Every time i look at your avatar i think of the vehicle in The Gods Must Be Crazy movie. LOL

[BrokeinMD]

I've never seen that one, but I googled it, it looks like a funny flick! My avatar I found one day when I was looking up Chris Farley, and my favorite skit of his as Matt Foley, The Motivational Speaker, on Saturday Night Live.

[shark66]

I would NOT advise anyone to file on $10K of debt. One never knows what tomorrow may bring, and we don't get to file every six months if needed...

My better half has about $75K in unsecured debt but I advised her not to file since she's collection proof. One day - God forbid - she might have to pull that rabbit out of the hat with good reason...

My $0.02 only...

Good luck.

[oregonpilot]

We watch it every couple of years. Giggle every time we see it. A classic in our book !!
Theres a seq also. Gods must be crazy 2 ...Both are pretty funny.

[BrokeinMD]

Hi Shark - Thanks for your thoughts. It's gonna make us bite the bullet for a while, since he'll be lucky to be bringing in about $1,500 a month with his current salary, but that may be what we have to do for a little longer.

[momofthree]

He should NOT be filing bankruptcy on $10k, especially since he has no health insurance and ongoing health problems. Medical collections are the least likely collectors to try to garnish wages. Unless he gets a summons, I'd leave it be. If he can't afford to pay it, then don't pay it, but don't fire the bk bullet on $10k. He only gets it once every 8 years. 1 bad accident or illness and he could owe upwards of $100k and not have bk as an option because he already filed on a measly $10k.

[BrokeinMD]

You're right, MomOfThree, absolutely right! He's panicked, and it doesn't help me to think clearly. That makes total sense!

The problem is it's his back. He was on my plan last year, and I had to drop him because we either had to eat or pay the premium. Plus, Cigna only paid a small portion of it, and I have been fighting with them for this whole year about whether or not it's pre-existing. They have made some payments, but then have dumped a lot of the pain management fees into the family deductible, then co-insurance. His pain management for a few shots in his back has cost over $4 grand alone. Now he's going to be with another carrier, so I completely see what you're saying now, as his new insurance, which comes in 90 days, may say he's pre-existing, too. He'll wait. Thank you, Thank you!