Need help folks, they filed for a judgement

[jeff0633]

Hi folks. First post here, but somehow I don't feel so alone after finding this forum.

I am a 43 year-old man with custody of my two kids (boy15, girl 11) and I am on disability social security. I live in a two bedroom trailer that me and my kids paid off over the last 5 years after my divorce. My tralier is probably worth 6-8 thousand depending on how much I wanted to fix it up if I ever sold it. I have no income other than my disability and AFDC (families first in Tennessee). I am supposed to get 250 dollars a month child support for the last 5 years but my ex wife has only paid 3 payments, so she owes me probably over ten thousand dollars in back support.

Anyway, I had gotten high interest credit cards when I first got divorced because I was desperate to get a place for my kids and I. I was forced to live at my Mom's for a couple months when first divorced. Aspire Visa was charging me 31 percent interest, and I also had a couple Capital one cards and a couple others. Midland credit LLC got some of these accounts and has been harrassing me for three years now. I could not afford to make payments anymore and the fees were building up. I just stopped answering the phone (probably a dumb thing to do I know). Well, Nov 16th, a few days ago (My 44th birthday), I got served with a summons to court on Feb 7th next year. I got my free credit report just to see what all I owe. I owe.

Arrow fFinacial 655.00, Jefferson Capitol 167.00, Midland credit (the ones who filed on me and have four accounts on me a total of. 5,059.00, Park Danson 90.00, Opex communications 46.00. Now, I on my credit report at least at experian I don't see the five grand 3500 or so I owe capital 1. They are on the credit report but it says charged off to bad debt, but there is no company I see saying they are handling it. Midland, the ones who filed has four accounts, but none is Capital one. Midland only filed the judgement suit on the aspire visa account, because the summons says the amount owed to Midland is the exact amount owed on the Aspire visa account. Why didn't they total up all four accounts and make the judgement for all the total amount? Are they only allowed one judgement per account they hold on me?

Anyway, I have two vehicles. A junky 97 Plymouth Breeze, and a Pontiac Van my brother bought for me last year when he got his disabilty settlemnt. It paid cash for it and simply put it in my name and i have the title. It's probably worth around five thousand and it is paid for but I agreed to pay my brother a hundred dollars a month on it to pay back the 5,400 he forked out on it. Should i make him a lean holder on the title and then send it in to the state? He was just being nice in putting it in my name from the start because he knows he would never repo it from his own brother, but now I am afraid they can try to take it once this judgement comes through. My brother bought it for me because he didn't want my kids riding around in the crapopy car and my kids were embarrassed by it when we went somewhere in it. I am legally blind and my brother and Mom do my driving so they wanted somethging decent to drive us around in.

I am trying to decide whether i should just file chapter 7 because all I own is this two bedroom trailer, the two vehicles (owe my brother on the van verbally), and that's about it. I make about 800 per month in SSI and AFDC payments and food stamps for my kids. My bills probably come to about 600 per month. I owe 115 lot rent, 150 electric bill, 40 water/sewage, 49 cable TV, 35 dance class for my daughter, clothes, sports fees for my son to be in Football and such. I have a cell phone family plan for members of my family so that we can always be reached for the safety of my children.

Is Chapter 7 for me? I can't even afford a lawyer. The cheapest one I found here in town wants 950 dollars up fron to even file. I can't afford it. i do have internet and saw do-it-your-self forms packages for 49 bucks that supposedly lead you through the chater 7 filing and such. I just don't know what to do and feel so sad and even worse around my kids because this will effect their Christmas gifts and everything. I was planning to save a hundred each for them to spend as they wish, but now I don't know. I almost can't function and be a decnt dad while my mind is swirling like this.

What rights do i have in this judgement case? Will Midland credit get me in court and then add the other three accounts they have on me? Will the others do the same thing? Is chapter 7 the answer, will I get to keep my vehicles, even if they are paid for? Will they say that i can get by with the crapopy car and take my van to sell for 4 or 5 grand? What happens to my brother who i verbally owe four grand to for the van? Should we have my brother put a lean on it for what I owe hi, even though I have the title back from the state in my name now?

I feel so alone. My Mom and I agree that the kids shouldn't know, and yet it will effect their lives, Christmas for sure. Thes people have harrassed me on the phone for years. I feel like i have been tortured, and now they are taking me to court. Will the Judge actually send people in to my trailer and start taking my belongings, in front of neaghbors, ruining my Children even further? I just need help so bad. I need advice and can't afford a lawyer. Will Capital one soon be showing up on some new collections agency account?

Are Midland Credit and I allowed to make a deal and stop the court situation? But if i do that, I'll need to make deals with the rest of them too, and I can't afford it all. they too will be filing against me, Capital one for sure. I hate to have to file Chapter 7 by myself with no lawyer, but what other choices or rights do I have?

If I need to give any more info to you good folks, please ask. I hope I can get some sound advice on what I should do. I live in Tennessee, Knoxville area.

Thanks much.

Jeff

[catwhisperer]

I can help with one thing

Hi,
I know what you are talking about with the calls. It doesn't get rid of the debt but it stops the calls - send them a letter saying they may not call you again. I think there is a form letter somewhere. All it does is state that they are to stop calling you. Don't say that you are going to pay, don't say that you agree with the amount. Just say that they are to stop calling. It worked for us - no calls in at least 6 months.

As for the judgement, we have one of those on us. I stupidly thought my husband would snap out of it and make enough money by the time the court date rolled around and we could just pay it. If anything, if the court date is in Feb it may give you time to pull a few things together. After they get the judgement, then they have to collect on it (wage attachment, sheriff showing up to take an inventory of your stuff to sell). If you have no wages and nothing worth selling, they may not do anything. Again, may give you time to get money together for the bankruptcy.

We wound up negotiating with the bank for a VERY low monthly payment - $75 - to pay the judgement and avoid bankruptcy. It will take a bunch of years but we consider it sanity tax. Still have gargantuan credit card bills but the Statute of Limitations runs out next year and the debt will come off the credit report.

Every situation is different - try to contact the Legal Aid free legal service to see if you qualify for legal assistance there.

Best of luck - at least the letter stops the annoying phone calls.

[CindyLou]

Here is the link for the Tennesse exemptions. http://www.bankruptcyinformation.com/TN_exemp.htm

Also, look http://www.edmunds.com/tmv/used/index.html and use the appraisal tool to estimate the value of your vehicles. Do NOT over value them. Be sure and include the mileage. Also, on the mobile home, only estimate the value on what you could sell if for AS IS.

In my opinion, your assetts should all be exempt and it also appears that you are judgement proof. Not to say they can't get the judgement, but it does not seem like they would be able to collect on that judgement, depending on the value of your vehicles. Ok, well sorry I don't have time to go through the expemptions right now, but if you get started looking at them it will help. Also, your court date for the judgment isn't until February, so needing to file ASAP isn't necessary.
I'm reallly sorry you are going through all this and I hope that you and your kids are able to enjoy each other and have a happy holiday whether there are fancy gifts or extra money. You are taking a great step in starting to find information on the subject. The first thing you need to do is make a couple of "free first time consultations" with attorneys in your area. Go to find out information only. You don't have to day anything now. Oh, also it appears as though all of your income is exempt. I think as soon as you see an attorney, you will feel better. Once you get confirmation as to whether all of your assetts are exempt then you may need to really do nothing at this time. Please keep us posted.
P.S. Do not let them talk you into settling for something that you cannot pay. See an attorney before you do anything. Also, check out legal aide. They should really be able to help you.
Cindy

[jeff0633]

Thank God I have you folks to talk to.

I own the van, but really my brother does. My brother told me lastnight that I can go a head and sign the van back over to him. It's his anyway, and he would still let me use it. I could do that today since i have the title to it in my possession. It would cost a few bucks and my brother would have a registration and the title would be sent back to him from Nashville. I can do the same with my trailer and either put it in my Mom's name or my Brother's name. Actually, I also owe my mom for many trailer payments anyway. The title for the trailer is just like a car title, that's all it is. It is a green title just like a car title. I could just sign these right over to them today if I want to and they could go to the courthouse and send the titles off. I can say I had this planned anyway cause my trailer has only been paid off a few months. I just got the title back from Nashville a last month.

I was wondering about legal aid and whether they could help me. I know for sure I am eligible as far as money goes because I am on state assistance in just about everything. I even get my proprerty taxes on my trailer paid for by the sate because of low income, so I am eligible for any state low-income service. I just didn't know if legal aid was allowed to deal with financial issues. Could they even file BK chater 7 papers if I qualify for their help on low income?

Also, I guess I better answer this summons, is that correct? If I only have 20 days since the 16th, I still have many days to do it. What and how do I do this? Call the court clerk? What do I say in answer to it. I owe what they say I owe, at least on that Aspir visa account.

Yeah, I need a lawyer bad. I guess I could try to file chapter 13 and then I could probably find a lawyer to take the case and get his fee in the settlment like my Mom did a few years ago. I would have to pay all this back but they would have to consider my disability in setting up my payments. It would be a shame to have to file chapter 13 just because I might be able to get a lawyer that way because they will put their fee on as part of the settlement.

I was so upset lastnight that I couldn't sleep. I kissed my little girl goodnight and could have just broke down in tears. They have been through so much in their short lives, a terrible divorce, then not even seeing their mother for years at a time. Living in this little trailer, and now this. It's not fair that my mistakes should come down on them.

Again, I hope someone will let me know if I should go today and sign my van over as a gift or something to my brother, and even my trailer, which I could do today if you folks think I should.

Sorry for rambling but it makes me feel better to talk about it. I have many more questions. So far my options appear to be.

1.Sign over my trailer and van to my Mom and brother. Trailer has a simple car type title just like my van, and I have both titles in my possession. Then, go to court on the judgment and fight it since all I would have in my name is a cheap car. I would be living in my Mom's trailer and my brother would own the van.

2. File chapter 7 on my own with the help of software but I still might lose my van and trailer.

3. Try to use my Mom's BK lawyer and file chapter 13 so that I could actually use a lawyer who's fee will be part of the settlement.

I really need to find out what legal aid is allowed to help me with. I know I am elegible for whatever they do, but what can they do in these situations? Could they come to court with me at the judgement hearing and represent me?

I will be reading this thread all day to get more help folks. Thanks so much for talking with me.

Jeff

[GoingDown]

I own the van, but really my brother does. My brother told me lastnight that I can go a head and sign the van back over to him. It's his anyway, and he would still let me use it. I could do that today since i have the title to it in my possession. It would cost a few bucks and my brother would have a registration and the title would be sent back to him from Nashville. I can do the same with my trailer and either put it in my Mom's name or my Brother's name. Actually, I also owe my mom for many trailer payments anyway. The title for the trailer is just like a car title, that's all it is. It is a green title just like a car title. I could just sign these right over to them today if I want to and they could go to the courthouse and send the titles off. I can say I had this planned anyway cause my trailer has only been paid off a few months. I just got the title back from Nashville a last month.

I was wondering about legal aid and whether they could help me. I know for sure I am eligible as far as money goes because I am on state assistance in just about everything. I even get my proprerty taxes on my trailer paid for by the sate because of low income, so I am eligible for any state low-income service. I just didn't know if legal aid was allowed to deal with financial issues. Could they even file BK chater 7 papers if I qualify for their help on low income?

Also, I guess I better answer this summons, is that correct? If I only have 20 days since the 16th, I still have many days to do it. What and how do I do this? Call the court clerk? What do I say in answer to it. I owe what they say I owe, at least on that Aspir visa account.

Yeah, I need a lawyer bad. I guess I could try to file chapter 13 and then I could probably find a lawyer to take the case and get his fee in the settlment like my Mom did a few years ago. I would have to pay all this back but they would have to consider my disability in setting up my payments. It would be a shame to have to file chapter 13 just because I might be able to get a lawyer that way because they will put their fee on as part of the settlement.

I was so upset lastnight that I couldn't sleep. I kissed my little girl goodnight and could have just broke down in tears. They have been through so much in their short lives, a terrible divorce, then not even seeing their mother for years at a time. Living in this little trailer, and now this. It's not fair that my mistakes should come down on them.

Again, I hope someone will let me know if I should go today and sign my van over as a gift or something to my brother, and even my trailer, which I could do today if you folks think I should.

Sorry for rambling but it makes me feel better to talk about it. I have many more questions. So far my options appear to be.

1.Sign over my trailer and van to my Mom and brother. Trailer has a simple car type title just like my van, and I have both titles in my possession. Then, go to court on the judgment and fight it since all I would have in my name is a cheap car. I would be living in my Mom's trailer and my brother would own the van.

2. File chapter 7 on my own with the help of software but I still might lose my van and trailer.

3. Try to use my Mom's BK lawyer and file chapter 13 so that I could actually use a lawyer who's fee will be part of the settlement.

I really need to find out what legal aid is allowed to help me with. I know I am elegible for whatever they do, but what can they do in these situations? Could they come to court with me at the judgement hearing and represent me?

I will be reading this thread all day to get more help folks. Thanks so much for talking with me.

Jeff

Do NOT sign over any of your assets-- the trailer, the vehicles, etc. to anyone! It might be considered to be fraudulent transfer since they have already filed a lawsuit against you.

If you do end up filing for bankruptcy, this would look very suspicious to the trustee, and make it much more difficult for you.

Call at least 3 bankruptcy attorneys in your area and ask for a free consultation from them before you do anything else. Make sure that what you do from now on is going to make it easier for you to file a successful bankruptcy.

One thing you need to be aware of is that although technically your income is "exempt" from judgment creditors, which will stop them from garnishing your income, it will NOT stop them from seizing your checking account and savings account. You need to contact the government agencies which provide your income and tell them that you want paper checks instead of direct deposit. That way you will be able to cash the checks instead of depositing them into your checking account, which might be seized by a creditor after they get the judgment against you.

Finally, as for legal aid, ask them for help and information about filing chapter 7 bankruptcy. They probably won't represent you in court, but they will be able to give you a lot of helpful pointers and information, and perhaps help you find and fill out the correct forms. But don't rely on them for everything. You have plenty of time before February to read everything in the forum to familiarize yourself with bankruptcy and get up to speed so you will be able represent yourself in bankruptcy court. I would consider filing bankruptcy some time in February before that junk debt buyer gets a judgment against you. That way you can stop them from ever getting a judgment against you and you won't have to go to the trouble of vacating the judgment.

[jeff0633]

Thanks for the post. I think Social security and SSI require that I have direct deposit to a bank. I will check with them and see, but I believe that's the case. As for my afdc and stamps, that comes on a families first card issued by the state, so no one can mess with that.

On another note, Midland funding, the ones who took out the summons for the aspire visa card account had another lawyer call me about the emerge visa account they now own. Man, I told the guy my situation and told him I was living hand to mouth, disabled, food stamps and afdc, and I started talking about my kids and I just busted out in tears. I sobbed and the guy was nice and told me not to cry and that these things happen to a lot of people. He gave me his contact info and told me that if anything changed, to call him. I couldn't help crying. The worry and frustration just built up in me since the summons, and when i though of what my kids have been through, I just broke down. He seemed very understanding about it and said to call him if my situation changed. Very embarrassing to say the least, but that emotion was just built up over the last few days.

As for my accounts, I have the one bank my ssi goes direct deposit too. I never use that for anything else. Each month I take my ssi money out and leave five bucks in to keep it open. It's been that way for a couple years now. Usually nothing in or out besides my SSI. I have another checking account for using a debit card at a credit union, but again, rarely any money in there either. I will pay everything I can in money orders and cash most of the time, so I can close that account really, if I wanted to.

I guess my main question is, which route to go. If I choose BK7, then you are right and transfering anything to my mom and brother would look bad, but, if I don't file and just try to set myself up to be judgement proof, which i will be for a long time, then it seems that transfering the van and trailer title would be the smart thing to do, wouldn't it? If I am planning on simply wheathering a few judgements against me in the future, with no BK, then wouldn't transfering the van and trailer be smart, making me have nothing but one cheap car, living in a trailer owned by my mom, with no other assets at all and on government assistance?

Seems like making myself judgement proof and making myself BK7 are going to be two different paths. I need to know which route to take. Damn this is hard on your emotions when you have children involved.

Thanks so much everyone. Please continue to give opinions, I need them bad.

Jeff

[GoingDown]

Thanks for the post. I think Social security and SSI require that I have direct deposit to a bank. I will check with them and see, but I believe that's the case. As for my afdc and stamps, that comes on a families first card issued by the state, so no one can mess with that.

On another note, Midland funding, the ones who took out the summons for the aspire visa card account had another lawyer call me about the emerge visa account they now own. Man, I told the guy my situation and told him I was living hand to mouth, disabled, food stamps and afdc, and I started talking about my kids and I just busted out in tears. I sobbed and the guy was nice and told me not to cry and that these things happen to a lot of people. He gave me his contact info and told me that if anything changed, to call him. I couldn't help crying. The worry and frustration just built up in me since the summons, and when i though of what my kids have been through, I just broke down. He seemed very understanding about it and said to call him if my situation changed. Very embarrassing to say the least, but that emotion was just built up over the last few days.

As for my accounts, I have the one bank my ssi goes direct deposit too. I never use that for anything else. Each month I take my ssi money out and leave five bucks in to keep it open. It's been that way for a couple years now. Usually nothing in or out besides my SSI. I have another checking account for using a debit card at a credit union, but again, rarely any money in there either. I will pay everything I can in money orders and cash most of the time, so I can close that account really, if I wanted to.

I guess my main question is, which route to go. If I choose BK7, then you are right and transfering anything to my mom and brother would look bad, but, if I don't file and just try to set myself up to be judgement proof, which i will be for a long time, then it seems that transfering the van and trailer title would be the smart thing to do, wouldn't it? If I am planning on simply wheathering a few judgements against me in the future, with no BK, then wouldn't transfering the van and trailer be smart, making me have nothing but one cheap car, living in a trailer owned by my mom, with no other assets at all and on government assistance?

Seems like making myself judgement proof and making myself BK7 are going to be two different paths. I need to know which route to take. Damn this is hard on your emotions when you have children involved.



Jeff

If I was you, I would still contact Social Security and SSI to see if they can start mailing paper checks to you. As far as I know, they do have that option, but you have to ask them to do it for you.

Be very careful about what you say on the telephone to debt collectors. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a number ways, and the information you give them may come back to haunt you at your bankruptcy hearings. The best policy is to never speak to them on the phone at all. Obviously, you are in no condition to be talking to them on the phone, so get an answering machine and let it answer the phone for you.

As far as I can tell, you would not qualify for a chapter 13 bankruptcy because you do not have enough income to fund it.

Your best option is to file chapter 7 bankruptcy before they get a judgment against you. It gets more expensive after they get a judgment because then you have to deal with liens and vacating the judgment.

Being judgment proof is fine for some people (for example single people with no kids who can move around alot to avoid creditors from finding where they actually live), but you have children to care for, so I do not suggest this route for you. You need to get out from under these crushing debts as soon as possible and get their lives back to a sense of normality quickly, and chapter 7 bankruptcy is really your only option at this point.

Even if you were to go the judgment proof route, transferring assets out of your name when you have a pending lawsuit against you is still considered in fraud of creditors and could get you and whoever you transfer the assets to in some legal trouble.