AM I DELUSIONAL? Gurus plz need reality check on this Debt settle vs BK7 strategy

[slvnomore]

Thank you for your patience, between the hospitals, and the financial hardships, I am doing my best.
I am having trouble thinking clearly. Beginning to question if my plans are delusional.

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BACK STORY
Lost 4 people in 3 years, Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, Brother in law, Plus I am the primary care giver for GF on chemo feeding tubes./ dad in hospital often.
Lost 30% of clients in recession, plus was in the hospital 60% of my time.
Credit: perfect credit for 17 years. Never even late on a payment. FICO 750 all CRAs.
UNTIL: Chase changed 7% fixed to 12% variable, then cut 10K off credit limit
fought that with executive disputes/ then they cut 26k MORE off credit limit/ fought that/ then they cut 12K MORE off credit limit, lowered FICO and raised APR to 24%
fought it all the way to the ATT GEN office. LOST CASE. I could still file civil suit. Then Other CC Cut CL too. FICO/APR spiral of death.
Started to see I cant win at this. Its a rigged game. Started to consider a strategic default / stopped paying one year ago. Had to pick my health insurance over CC.

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TOTAL DEBT: 78k debt

5k IRS
2K medical
44K creditor 1
17 K creditor 2
10 k creditor 3
( I have no assets and an income that qualifys for the means test if i decide to BK7)

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CURRENT:
1) Made deal with IRS for monthly payments
2) Creditor 1 offered me 30% ( 9K cash) / I dindnt have it./ wrote them 2 certified letters asking for better offer. I CURRENT: HAVE NOT HEARD FROM THEM.
3) Creditor 2 offered me 40% (6k cash)/ I didnt have it / wroth then certified letter asking for better offer. CURRENT: FILED AGIANST ME FOR 17K SUIT: NOT SERVED YET.
4) Creditor 3 I kept paying as they are my bank and to switch that would be hard, also If i can settle i would still have some credit.
5) havent heard from medical.

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INTENDED RESULT:

1) To settle for 20% or less with OC,( or if he would give it to a JDB) for creditor 1,
2) To settle for 20% or less with OC ( or if he would give it to a JDB) for creditor 2
3) To file insolvency to delete 1099's for taxes of forgiven debt.
4) To not go BK because of HUGE PERSONAL fear of what would happen if I had a serious medical crisis AFTER you already went BK7.
and you already dropped your one nuke. and then are at the mercy of the the system even with insurance.
(this is currently going on with my GF, No one can pay even 20% of 174K medical bills. like my gf has to).
I am terrified of this as (I saw my mom die on medicaid because of bad medical care, and she couldn't afford better doctors, it was just awful.)

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GETTING INTO REALITY QUESTIONS:

1) What is the likely hood of me settling with the OC lawyer of creditor (or if he would give it to a JDB) for 20% or less? (on a scale of 1-100%)

On what do you base this please?

2) In your expert opinion, Is my strategy to settle, rather than go BK, unlikely or impossible to happen?
If so why, please help me understand.

3) Given my current situation, what are my real options besides Bk 7 ?

4) IF YOU WERE IN THIS EXACT SITUATION with my same fears, what would you do?

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All tips, wisdom, links, and constructive advice most welcome.

[keepsmiling]

Slv, I fear you are in danger of being banned for trolling. Same q asked umpteen times, not listening to responses. The answers aren't going to change.

We are ALL in the same boat. Maybe some slight variations in details as to exactly how we got here, but end result is the same.

Me too btw. I'm broke due to using my HELOC to pay my health ins for many many years. It's untenable really, the whole health/medical thing. Being hounded right now for a couple MRI's that left almost 1K unpaid WITH ins. Insane.

My thought? Your gf can jerk the medical bills around for 8 years and then declare bk again. They are going to force many of us to do that anyway. #1 reason for bk btw.

NOW GO MAKE THOSE CALLS. It's the weekend so it will be much harder today. I REALLY hope you made some yesterday.

[btbeme]

My attorney says that about 75% of his clients have huge medical bills. And, he said, nearly 80% of his clients tried some form of debt consolidation or settlement, only to discover that they spent thousands of dollars and moved exactly nowhere forward.

I have a post that was eventually made a sticky at the top of this forum. The most popular part of it, according to the comments, was the part that says "Get Over It." Many, many people have been exactly where you are. Some of them filed BK; others did something else. In a lot of cases people who did something else came back here to ask for advice on how to file BK.

So, I am with keepsmiling above. Go see some attorneys. Nothing else we can say here will make your situation change, but an attorney can guide you to that freedom...if you let them.

[LadyInTheRed]

Creditor #2 is not likely to settle for such a low amount after they have already filed a lawsuit. You owe the money, right? They will get a judgment for the full amount, so there is no incentive for them to settle at this point. I think the likelihood of settling for 20% at this point is 0%. My source for that information? The knowledge of how the legal system works and how plaintiff's think about settlements, and years of reading of people's experiences trying to settle debt. If they offered you 40% before the lawsuit, that offer won't decrease after the lawsuit has been filed.

Even if by some miracle creditor 2 does settle for 20%, the odds of getting creditor #1 to do the same are tiny.

Your REALISTIC options other than filing Chap 7? (1) Use a credit counseling agency to try to pay off your debt and pay a lot more than you will for a BK, on the creditors' terms, draw out the process and still maybe come out of it years from now owing your creditors. This is the path many BKForum members took before deciding to file BK, with regrets of not doing so sooner. (2) Do nothing, allow your creditors to get judgments, deal with collection calls, wage garnishment and account seizures.

You are currently healthy, right? I know you are scared by what has happened and is happening to your loved ones. But, seeing parents and grandparents die is the way things are supposed to happen. It's not a happy reality, but it is reality. Another unfortunate reality is that people get sick and die too young than seems fair. This is more reason to live your life to it's fullest every day to the best of your ability given your current health. If you are healthy, you have a better chance of staying healthy for 8 years than you do of settling your debt for 20%. If the worst happens and you have to incur large medical bills, you do the best you can to protect your wages and assets and wait out the expiration of the 8 years. Or you file Chap 13 to get the creditors off your back.

Don't make your decisions based on fears of what might happen! If you file BK, think of how free you will feel when you get your discharge! You might get hit by a bus a year later and killed instantly. But, that last year would have been lived without the pressures of debt. The 8 years you have to wait to file another Chap 7 will be irrelevant. So many things that can happen on any day that we can't control. All we can do is make the best decisions we can make best on what we know now.

[slvnomore]

I want to thank you all from my deepest heart for your patience, and your thoughtful, clarifying replys.
expecially the logic behind the percentages.
I respectfully apologize for repeating my self or asking the same questions in a different way, there is so much to learn,
and I am just so afraid of making a mistake that will affect the rest of my life.
sometimes It feels like I playing 3 dimensional chess, so many permutations.
thank you for your good and wise council.
Believe it or not, I am not like this in any other area of life that I know of, this one really triggers me,
and i hope this trip to "a beautiful mind land", is situational and temporary. : )

[slvnomore]

Lady in Red,

A big hug to you.

These comments helped so much, and your focused specific answers actually related to my questions.

1) Creditor #2 is not likely to settle for such a low amount after they have already filed a lawsuit. You owe the money, right? They will get a judgment for the full amount, so there is no incentive for them to settle at this point. I think the likelihood of settling for 20% at this point is 0%.
If they offered you 40% before the lawsuit, that offer won't decrease after the lawsuit has been filed.

2) Even if by some miracle creditor 2 does settle for 20%, the odds of getting creditor #1 to do the same are tiny.

3) f you are healthy, you have a better chance of staying healthy for 8 years than you do of settling your debt for 20%. If the worst happens and you have to incur large medical bills, you do the best you can to protect your wages and assets and wait out the expiration of the 8 years. Or you file Chap 13 to get the creditors off your back.

You are so appreciated! ; )

[LadyInTheRed]

I am glad you find my posts helpful, slvnomore. It sure would make me happy if they help encourage you to actually go consult with some BK attorneys. You've been here for almost 7 months looking for reasons not to file BK. I think you know what you need to do to become your screen name. I have seen many people come to these boards knowing they need to file BK but being afraid to. They educate themselves, consult with attorneys and, even if still a bit nervous, file BK. When they get discharged, the thing we hear most often is "I wish I hadn't waited so long." The only person who I remember saying they regretted filing BK was somebody who filed Chap 13 and had a terrible time of it. Of all the discharge parties I've seen here, one regret is pretty good odds. We've given you all the help we can give you here until after you've consulted with some attorneys.

So, a big hug to you and a huge SHOVE to get you off the computer and out to some lawyers' offices!

[slvnomore]

I am willing. Your logic facts, and actually answering my questions, was pivotal.
I am preparing my questions for the lawyers. and looking for a list of things to take to be prepared,
and make the most of the first free meeting. ; )

[keepsmiling]

we'll all be here rooting for you