Got my first certified letter in mail.

[Jackdog]

I have my attorney retained but I'm still months away from coming up with the rest of money to pay him off and file. I went out to run errands today, when I came back and checked the mail, there was a certified letter notice in it from GE Money. It could be a from a few cards because a few of the cards I have GE is the bank. I'm 4 months behind on Discover and 3 months on rest. Just kind of curious what this letter might be. They call nonstop still. I don't answer phone. I think I'm pretty safe on wage garnishment. I only make 16k a year before taxes. Boyfriend who contributes to household makes maybe 22k before taxes.

I'm one of those that tend to worry though and since post office is closed now I was curious if any of you had thoughts on what the letter might be? Can they mail a summons for lawsuit in Florida?
If they can what do I do? I still owe my attorney $750 and thats not including the filing fee. I'm Chapter 7 beyond qualify but I do own my home and I'm keeping that.

Sorry so long. I just came home and saw the certified slip and went into panic mode.

[WhatMoney]

Can they mail a summons for lawsuit in Florida?
If they can what do I do?

Yes, by certified mail. See Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.070 (i) (2) (B):

http://floridacivpro.com/rules/2009/10/1070-process.php

If it is a summons you can ignore it and you will get a default judgment, or answer it and possibly delay the judgment.

[Jackdog]

If it is a summons what should I do? I'm still months away from filing. I know wage garnishment for Florida is anything above $500 a week. I only make around $300-350 after taxes a week. Boyfriend pays his share of bills and that puts our weekly income over $500 a week. If they sue and win would they put a lien on house or freeze our joint checking account? Will that cause any issue with my mortgage? I pay them on time every month. I plan on keeping my house I can afford it. I'm really getting nervous thinking about the what if's. If I get a lien placed against my house will the Chapter 7 cancel it?

[jacko]

What are your states homestead exemption? If they sue and put a lien, not a big deal, unless you sell later on.

If your earning just $16,000, I would not file. You seem to be collection proof. What is your total CC debt?

I would close the joint checking account and open your own checking with Schwab and a Wal Mart money card. All you need is $100 to start and they will credit same day for deposits. They also provide postage paid envelopes. BTW, their deposit address is in Florida.

If it is a summons what should I do? I'm still months away from filing. I know wage garnishment for Florida is anything above $500 a week. I only make around $300-350 after taxes a week. Boyfriend pays his share of bills and that puts our weekly income over $500 a week. If they sue and win would they put a lien on house or freeze our joint checking account? Will that cause any issue with my mortgage? I pay them on time every month. I plan on keeping my house I can afford it. I'm really getting nervous thinking about the what if's. If I get a lien placed against my house will the Chapter 7 cancel it?

[Jackdog]

I'm in Florida so homestead exemption is well beyond what I owe and what my house is worth. I do make 16k before taxes but he does contribute to expenses and I know they view that as income. I have about 23k total in debt not including my house that I'm keeping. I just figured filing BK would wipe the slate clean in case in the future he were to make more or when we get married I don't want my mistakes becoming his problem.

[bladerunner]

RE: Jackdog...If I'm not mistaken, secured debt( homes, cars, school loans) cannot be used to satisfy an unsecured debt(credit cards) . I have not paid on any of my three credit cards since Nov 2009, and I sleep well at night. I've lost my job, my unemployment benefits are exhausted and my husband's business is down over 70%. I have no money and there is no debtor's prison, so relax. First, homestead your house, you can do that yourself at your city's assessor's office. You can keep your home if you file a chapter 7, just re-affirm the debt. The bank accounts though, maybe you should open your own account without your SO's name, just in case and not with the same bank that owns your CC's. You wrote that you have an attorney, if legal counsel is not available, check out your local legal aid clinic, law school, pro bono project, lawyer referral service, someone who can give you the correct legal advise...and become educated in the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act...good luck, you're not alone...

Unemployed- Nov 2007
Stopped paying on my three credit cards -Nov 2009
Husband and I meet with Bankruptcy Attorney- Feb 2010
Husband may borrow money from his dad to pay off his unsecured debt at 20%- May 2010
Husband informs me, I'm on my own with my unsecured debt- May 2010
Sleeping well at night, but dreaming about a chap 7 pro se or a divorce-May 2010

[jacko]

Do you have health insurance? Is he a half owner(name on the deed?) of the house?

I would not file BK on 23k debt. I'd be proactive by closing the joint checking account and open one up out of state. Since Florida law does not allow garnishment of wages of up to $500, why are you losing sleep?

I'm in Florida so homestead exemption is well beyond what I owe and what my house is worth. I do make 16k before taxes but he does contribute to expenses and I know they view that as income. I have about 23k total in debt not including my house that I'm keeping. I just figured filing BK would wipe the slate clean in case in the future he were to make more or when we get married I don't want my mistakes becoming his problem.

[Jackdog]

Bf's name is not on house or mortgage. The mortgage for house is a loan my ex and I took out so I definitely have to keep this and I want to anyway, it's my home and the mortgage is cheap.

All the unsecured debt I have is in my name only. I just figured filing BK would be in my best interest in case we get married and they decide to pursue him. That and I didn't want any liens attached to my house. My house is already under the homestead exemption.

I'm not losing sleep anymore because I thought after reading these forums BK was in my best interest. I'm curious Jacko why not file? I know 23k debt isn't a lot to most but to me it's a ton. What if we decide to sell house and move in a few years? I just thought BK was my only option. I know I'm collection proof but if we move in a few years like we want to this debt will more than likely follow me if I don't BK.

[OHBOY]

Quote: "First, homestead your house, you can do that yourself at your city's assessor's office."

Yes, in FL you can get a homestead tax exemption, know however that it is not the same as filing for a 'homestead declaration' which has nothing to do with tax assessor's office and needs to be filed with the county clerk. I certainly would go that route (and have...), and would 'sleep much better', especially when hearing that "The mortgage for house is a loan my ex and I took out " which could be a whole other 'can of worms' with a whole lot of other questions, such as who's name is the deed in, divorce agreements, ect., ect.
I would certainly talk to my attorney about this before getting any possible judgments....these are just thoughts that go through my head, while admitting that I do tend to go overboard at times when it comes to taking precautionary steps...

[jacko]

Is your state a community property one? If not, you BF is not responsible for your debt if you two get married. I think 23k is not worth filing. I'm currently at 65k CC(with the added fees and interest). Currently do not have full time job and health insurance. Crap One is the only one who sued for judgment. They will get zero from me. The others took a look at my credit report and moved on.

You can only file BK every 8 years.

Bf's name is not on house or mortgage. The mortgage for house is a loan my ex and I took out so I definitely have to keep this and I want to anyway, it's my home and the mortgage is cheap.

All the unsecured debt I have is in my name only. I just figured filing BK would be in my best interest in case we get married and they decide to pursue him. That and I didn't want any liens attached to my house. My house is already under the homestead exemption.

I'm not losing sleep anymore because I thought after reading these forums BK was in my best interest. I'm curious Jacko why not file? I know 23k debt isn't a lot to most but to me it's a ton. What if we decide to sell house and move in a few years? I just thought BK was my only option. I know I'm collection proof but if we move in a few years like we want to this debt will more than likely follow me if I don't BK.

[Jackdog]

Thanks everyone this is a lot of info and I learned something. The house deed is in my name only. I pay the mortgage and property taxes.
I knew nothing about the Homestead Declaration. I'm just homestead exempt. Thank you so much for informing me of this. Do I just go to the Clerk of Courts and is that something I can do myself?

Also I keep hearing health insurance? I do have a job and health insurance through my job is that some type of issue?

I'm reconsidering filing now for the time being at least. It would be months still for me to come up with the rest of the money for attorney and that is money I could use to fix the AC in house (which is broke).

Thanks so much again. I really thought the only option I had was BK. I'm not sure if Florida is a community property state I'll have to look more into that. I know whatever you acquire while married it is but I can't find anything on debt before marriage.

[StartingOver08]

Florida is not a community property state. See pg 1 of this IRS publication for the list of community property states: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p555.pdf

[flyinbroke]

Open the letter. GE sent me a certified letter when I was 3 months late. It was only a "you are seriously delinquent, call us and see if we can help" letter.

I am pushing the 180 day mark and they are now sending the threat of legal action. I sent an intent to sue to their hired gun collections agent who promptly blew it off, even with a complaint ready to file in it. They have one more week, and it goes to the courthouse. The only question is whether to add GE to it since they hired the CA that broke every law they could.

They probably are not suing at the 3 month mark. Get the letter and see what it actually says.

[jacko]

Medical debt can be discharged in a BK. It makes no sense if one has low income and has inadequate or no health insurance to file BK. Your credit is already trashed. Save your BK option when you really need to use it.

Thanks everyone this is a lot of info and I learned something. The house deed is in my name only. I pay the mortgage and property taxes.
I knew nothing about the Homestead Declaration. I'm just homestead exempt. Thank you so much for informing me of this. Do I just go to the Clerk of Courts and is that something I can do myself?

Also I keep hearing health insurance? I do have a job and health insurance through my job is that some type of issue?

I'm reconsidering filing now for the time being at least. It would be months still for me to come up with the rest of the money for attorney and that is money I could use to fix the AC in house (which is broke).

Thanks so much again. I really thought the only option I had was BK. I'm not sure if Florida is a community property state I'll have to look more into that. I know whatever you acquire while married it is but I can't find anything on debt before marriage.

[Jackdog]

Thanks Jacko. I think I will hold off. I do need to get this Homestead Declaration set up. I have a little equity in my home so I need to make sure I have that protected. I'll call the courthouse Monday see what I need to do in order to do that. Still wondering if that is something I need a Lawyer for or can I just do that myself.

Thanks again everyone. Being able to get the house AC fixed is going to be a huge relief and I'll have the money in no time to do that since I won't be saving for the BK.