What are my options?

[travelingirl]

Okiedokie, first off hello everyone. I'm new here and this is my first post, so if it seems like I'm a newbie, I am lol

So, a little backstory. I was married for almost 10 years, divorced my ex-husband in June of last year. In 2006 we filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy jointly, with everything (except my personal student loans) discharged without a problem. We re-established decent credit and everything was ok financially until our divorce. Before the divorce, ex and I had two vehicles in both of our names that were financed. In our decree, he got one car (which he traded in on a new car), and I got the other (which was repossessed by the finance company due to my lack of employment).

Then I sadly ran into the problem of a very sick mother who needed round the clock nursing care, so I quit my full-time office job and moved back home to help her. I've since started my own business as a freelance writer, so I'm self-employed and get 1099's from my clients at the end of tax season. No real steady income, although I do manage about $1500 a month while helping care for mom.

Unfortunately, the time without work resulted in the repo of the car and that debt, and a few other bills that have gone into collections (an old telephone bill in my name, a couple of payday loans, a bank account that was overdrawn, etc.) At this point I'm not even sure what exactly is in collections or what obligations I have outstanding.

I want to get this all straightened up and my credit back on track. I hate having this stuff hanging over my head as I rebuild my life and try to move on, but I have no idea what my options are. Is there a possibility of a bankruptcy on my own now that the divorce is over? If not...what other options do I have? I can't afford to just pay all of these collections companies and whatnot outright, as they wants big payments that I cannot afford on my meager budget.

Any advice/direction would be more than welcome.....thank you all so much!

[eahmay]

You may want to check with your lawyer but there might be a time span you have to wait until you file again.

[GoingDown]

You probably will have to wait before you can file BK again...


In the meantime...
It sounds like you might be judgment proof.

You have no assets. No real estate, no car.

You have temp jobs / freelance jobs which are very difficult (almost impossible or very cost prohibitive for creditors) to garnish. DO NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR JOBS TO CREDITORS!!!! In fact, go into silent mode with your creditors. Don't talk to them on the phone. Any information they get from you will be turned around and used against you later.

If someone sues you, make sure you get all of your money out of checking accounts, savings accounts, etc.

Then just wait until you can file BK again, and then file.

[jacko]

First of, you should check your credit report three times a year from the three reporting firms. These would be free, just check each one every four months. This would tell you if you have debts outstanding.

In the meantime, take legal steps to protect your assets.

Okiedokie, first off hello everyone. I'm new here and this is my first post, so if it seems like I'm a newbie, I am lol

So, a little backstory. I was married for almost 10 years, divorced my ex-husband in June of last year. In 2006 we filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy jointly, with everything (except my personal student loans) discharged without a problem. We re-established decent credit and everything was ok financially until our divorce. Before the divorce, ex and I had two vehicles in both of our names that were financed. In our decree, he got one car (which he traded in on a new car), and I got the other (which was repossessed by the finance company due to my lack of employment).

Then I sadly ran into the problem of a very sick mother who needed round the clock nursing care, so I quit my full-time office job and moved back home to help her. I've since started my own business as a freelance writer, so I'm self-employed and get 1099's from my clients at the end of tax season. No real steady income, although I do manage about $1500 a month while helping care for mom.

Unfortunately, the time without work resulted in the repo of the car and that debt, and a few other bills that have gone into collections (an old telephone bill in my name, a couple of payday loans, a bank account that was overdrawn, etc.) At this point I'm not even sure what exactly is in collections or what obligations I have outstanding.

I want to get this all straightened up and my credit back on track. I hate having this stuff hanging over my head as I rebuild my life and try to move on, but I have no idea what my options are. Is there a possibility of a bankruptcy on my own now that the divorce is over? If not...what other options do I have? I can't afford to just pay all of these collections companies and whatnot outright, as they wants big payments that I cannot afford on my meager budget.

Any advice/direction would be more than welcome.....thank you all so much!