Question on mention of Bankruptcy in contract

[nobody]

I was in a very bad car accident which may result in my wife and I losing our house. We are being foreclosed on and are trying to work out repayment details with the mortgage company. Meanwhile the original sellers of the house have carried part of the loan to the tune of $85,000. My wife is the only one on the mortgage and the only one on the 2nd loan the other party holds. After finding out about a possible foreclosure they showed up with another contract for me to sign which they said gave them extra backup. In the contract it states that they can collect the $85,000 from me even in the event of bankruptcy. I am injured (broken shoulder blade, broken elbow,broken ribs, broken L2 vertebrae, torn rotator cuff, broken ribs) and signed this without putting the proper due diligence into it.....have I screwed myself or will this stand in a court of law.....they drew it up by using wording they found on the internet.....please help.
Thanks
nobody

[sharksfan]

I was in a very bad car accident which may result in my wife and I losing our house. We are being foreclosed on and are trying to work out repayment details with the mortgage company. Meanwhile the original sellers of the house have carried part of the loan to the tune of $85,000. My wife is the only one on the mortgage and the only one on the 2nd loan the other party holds. After finding out about a possible foreclosure they showed up with another contract for me to sign which they said gave them extra backup. In the contract it states that they can collect the $85,000 from me even in the event of bankruptcy. I am injured (broken shoulder blade, broken elbow,broken ribs, broken L2 vertebrae, torn rotator cuff, broken ribs) and signed this without putting the proper due diligence into it.....have I screwed myself or will this stand in a court of law.....they drew it up by using wording they found on the internet.....please help.
Thanks
nobody

I don't think that contract will matter in BK court. If you think about it, didn't you agree to pay your other creditors (in legalise terms) when you started doing business with them?

[emoney]

In hindsight you should not have signed it, allthough you may have an out call due rest or undue influence.
So what can we do something about. Contracts that have statements about BK are void becasue it is public law. If the contract is worded correctely all other parts will prevail.
best regards,
emoney

[nobody]

In hindsight you should not have signed it, allthough you may have an out call due rest or undue influence.
So what can we do something about. Contracts that have statements about BK are void becasue it is public law. If the contract is worded correctely all other parts will prevail.
best regards,
emoney

So when you say "If the contract is worded correctely all other parts will prevail." Do you mean that their contract will prevail over me.
MP

[mcdulph]

Please get a lawyer ASAP. It sounds like you are dealing with some sneaky people.

BTW, if you were on pain pills when you signed, be absolutely certain you mention that to your attorney. It does sound like a BS, nonenforceable contract, but I believe that if you were on pain pills you were legally incompetent to sign anything. If I'm correct, that would just be another defense against the contract terms. Also if they threatened you & twisted your arm to sign, that might also be duress. Anyway, get an attorney ASAP.

Good luck.

[emoney]

What I mean is this, if the contract has wording about BK making things worse for you the contract may not be enforceable because it is against public policy. On the otherhand if the contract has a section that states that if parts are void or unenforceable the contract is still enforceable then you may have a a problem.
Please remember that most of us at this fourm are not lawyers and are not familar with the laws in your state and have not read your contracts.
For you pease of mind please seek legal council includging legal aid in your area.
best wishes,
emoney

[biotechsolution]

nobody. I wouldn't worry about the contract being enforceable after filing bk. think about it, if you could slip a line or two making someone responsible for the debt after filing a bk wouldn't pretty much every contract for money loaned have it included.

My understanding is that congress can only determine which debts are not dischargeable in the bankruptcy code. Which they have determined types of taxes, criminal fines, student loans, etc.

[Minnymouth]

Sounds like you signed a "reaffirm agreement" on the sly, or an agreement to pay the debt, whether you file bankruptcy or not.

Question? Was the papers notarized? If not, whose to say whether you signed them or not? And if your under the influence of medication, do you remember signing them??

Did they give you a copy of the papers you signed? If so read them carefully.... or have an attorney look at them if and when you go to file bankruptcy.

Did they know you were going to file bankruptcy.?

Most 2nd mortgage holders KNOW they will not get paid until the 1st mortgage holder is paid in full..... thus they try to slip in paperwork to protect themselves. Now whether it will hold up in bankruptcy court is something else to find out......

Hope you can get this cleared up and it doesn't bite you in the A**........

Keep us posted

[biotechsolution]

if it was a reaffirmation agreement it would have to be approved by the judge in your bk case.

[nobody]

I have not filed yet...and may not if I can get the foreclosure issue figured out...they had me sign this before bankruptcy was ever mentioned......it was an added agreement so that they could put me on the hook as well as my wife...as she is the only one on the loans. Now I signed this which puts me on the hook for the amount they carried which I was not responsible before. They included wording which mentions that I must pay even if I declare bankruptcy.

[HHM]

These types contract clauses are meaningless. The federal BK code has been held to preempt any of these "BK default" clauses. I would not worry about it.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

...On the otherhand if the contract has a section that states that if parts are void or unenforceable the contract is still enforceable then you may have a a problem. ...

Emoney, what you are referring to is a severability clause, which basically "severs" any unenforceable clause from a contract, leaving the rest of it intact. However, it sounds like this particular contract showed up at the time of (and was written because of) the possibility that the poster might bankrupt. So once you took out the bankruptcy clauses, I'm guessing there wouldn't be much left. Sounds like, because the wife was the only debtor, they had him sign this rag in order to make sure BOTH parties were liable for the mortgage. This is irrelevant in bk if both spouses file, so I'm not sure where they thought they were going with that.

The fact is that if you can't pay, you can't pay. If you *really* can't pay a debt, then you *really* can't pay the judgement. I honestly don't know what these people were thinking, making the poster sign this rag. I think sometimes people believe that if they sue someone successfully, a pot of gold awaits them at the end. Far too often, the exact opposite is true: you won, but your opponent just doesn't (or can't) pay, and you the plaintiff wind up in deeper debt than you started, waiting years to see even the first penny. If the original poster is as bad off as he says (and I suspect so, sorry for your troubles ) suing him won't get them any more $$$ than simply waiting for him to recover. If they just wanted to scare him out of filing bk, it worked for a while, but in the end if someone is effectively broke with no means to recover, bk is all there is.

Also, if this document addresses a second mortgage, the terms of a primary mortgage will not be abridged by it: I don't see how the lender of a second mortgage can move himself up the feeding trough and exclude the primary lender by means of a contract signed well after the first mortgage was executed.

That's just my thought on it, and I'm no attorney. But in this case I do believe that even if this "contract" is invalid (which it sounds like) it is definitely worth the original poster's time to get an attorney, because the folks that offered up this contract will no doubt try to give him trouble if he files, even if it doesn't get far. But take heart: the only "out" for a creditor in a bankruptcy filing is if you, the debtor, sign a reaffirmation agreement, and you haven't. So get an atty, and file when ready: it's not nearly as bad as they'd like to make you think, but you do need help. Good luck, and get well soon!!!!

P.S. DON'T SIGN ANYTHING ELSE UNTIL YOU SEE AN ATTY!!!!