Welp it has began :(

[mbjr73]

I was trying to keep up with my debts, my wife has been cheating for awhile, then last week she packed her things and moved out, I was not able to work the OT this month so I have missed payments on three CC's . I will start putting any and all money away next month to pay for an atty, hopefully I can save it up before they decide to garnish me, but the creditors have started calling.

I talked with a divorce atty about how much child support I will have to pay if she files for divorce, and I will not be able to pay my mortgage and Child support and other bills. So my current plan is to save for a ch 7, keep paying on mortgage and car loan without reaffirming that way I will be free to move out if I have to pay Child support.

I have a question on the not reaffirming / pay and stay, and I know the atty will probably answer this question for me, but can the mortgage and auto loan bank choose to not accept a pay-n-stay? forcing me to move and lose my auto to a repo?

Hoss

[Drazil65]

Hi, welcome and sorry to hear about your plight. It is a lot of stuff all at once for sure but break it down into pieces (how do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time!). First, try not to panic, you sound like you have a plan or the thought of one anyway. So if you have to save for an attorney in the mean time start making your appointments to interview them (free consults). You will want to talk to a few at least and this is the time to put your questions together on paper and start your journey.

Read everything on this site you can, keep reading, wealth of information and the more you know and understand about bankruptcy the better you will feel. Search Google Voice here, set it up for your phone and no more bothersome creditor calls (unless you choose to listen to them of course). Google Voice will be your saving grace and keep your stress levels manageable. Also, if you have not done so already, stop paying all unsecured debt and start saving that money towards paying for your attorney once you choose one. You have time before the creditors will sue by then you will have filed.

There are a lot of things in life you cannot control but the things you can you should. Your bankruptcy is something that you should be able to control many aspects of and if you research ( a lot especially here on this forum and interview attorneys) and do your due diligence you be just fine. Unfortunately your wife leaving is out of your control but you make decisions based on how you what to live your life now and who knows maybe she did you a favor. You will get through all of this and be better for it, one step at a time. Good Luck!

[catleg]

if you think you cannot afford to keep the house then i would encourage you to withhold the mortgage payments and keep them aside for a while. as long as you don't get too far behind, you would always have the option of catching up, with some small penalties. However if you're going to be leaving the house anyway, and assuming you don't have equity, or if perhaps your wife is going to get some/all of the equity, might be better to bank it. i don't know your whole situation, just some quick off the cuff comments. talk to a few lawyers about your options.

[mbjr73]

Thanks for yalls comments, I just refinanced the house and lowered my payments and the first one is due next week. The new mortgage is $105,000, as far as equity the house appraised out at only $57,000.00, so no equity.

I really don't want to lose my place but I don't know I will be meeting with some atty's next couple of weeks.

[LadyInTheRed]

If you have no equity and can afford to continue to make the mortgage payments, you should be able to keep the house. Do not reaffirm the mortgage. They will not foreclose if you stay current on payments. You may be told that on your Statement of Financial Affairs that is filed with your BK petition, you have to indicate that you will either reaffirm or surrender. What box you check is just an indication of your intention. It does not obligate you to actually sign a reaffirmation agreement.

hopefully I can save it up before they decide to garnish me, but the creditors have started calling.

Creditors can't just decided to garnish. They have to sue you and get a judgment first. They are very unlikely to sue you before you are 90 days delinquent. Many go a lot longer than that without making payments before they get sued. You have plenty of time to consult with lawyers and get yourself ready to file.

[JSFleischman]

Sorry to hear about your problems - sounds as if life has really knocked you around lately.

The prior comment about a garnishment is right - the creditor has to sue you before a garnishment can begin. If you're looking to stop the phone calls, consider writing a letter to the debt collectors telling them to cease all communications. You can search for some samples online, but the demand must be in writing. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act controls the actions of outside debt collectors only, so talk with a Georgia lawyer to see if there's a state law to handle first-party creditors.

You asked about retain-and-pay, otherwise known as, "the fourth option." No mortgage company I've ever seen would foreclose if you're current on payments, but some auto lenders will repo the car without a reaffirmation. One thing you may want to consider is a redemption of the car, which involves buying it outright from the lender at the car's current market value as opposed to the loan balance.

You may decide to take out a 401(k) loan and pay yourself back, or talk with a lender such as 722 Redemption that will finance the buy-out.

[jwmc1]

Creditors can't just decided to garnish. They have to sue you and get a judgment first. They are very unlikely to sue you before you are 90 days delinquent. Many go a lot longer than that without making payments before they get sued. You have plenty of time to consult with lawyers and get yourself ready to file.

I all reality, you will go 120 days before it is sent to a collection agency that is hired by the creditor. It will likely hit another collection agency 60 days after that before anyone even considers suing you. You have plenty of time to make the right decisions and carefully consider the consequences of each decision you make. The phone calls will drive you crazy, but phone calls can't do much to you. Best of luck!

[AngelinaCat]

Whatever you do, do NOT touch your 401K. That is your future, and is exempt from BK, nor can your creditors touch it. You invite yourself to a tax penalty if you cannot make the repayments--and frankly life happens, and most people do not make those repayments. My husband and I were a couple of those very people.....

[63640]

Whatever you do, do NOT touch your 401K. That is your future, and is exempt from BK, nor can your creditors touch it. You invite yourself to a tax penalty if you cannot make the repayments--and frankly life happens, and most people do not make those repayments. My husband and I were a couple of those very people.....

I second that... I opted to cash out a nice sized 401k to pay down debts instead of rolling it over when I switched jobs. Hand's down the dumbest decision I ever made in my life. The tax repercussions alone wiped out any positive outcome for that decision.