Bankrupty and Divorce?

[Serendipity]

I have been reading, but there is so much info and I don't know where to start.

I'm going through a divorce. My soon-to-be-ex husband makes more than I do. He makes about $7,000 per month, and I make about $500 at my regular part-time job and another $500 to $700 per month at odd jobs.

We've been separated for five years. I've been paying my rent, utilities, and other bills, though sometimes I get late on utilities. I don't have any credit cards of my own, except one they surprisingly gave me a few months ago and I've kept the balance below $150 and paid on it regularly.

He's defaulted on almost every loan we had jointly, and those in his name. I don't have access to any of the financial records, but the mortgage is probably around $180,000 and my own credit report several years ago listed about $23,000 in joint credit card debt. (I can't even get the financial records anymore when I try, because they ask things like how much the mortgage is to prove it's me, and I don't know the answer ... and he won't tell me.)

He has the house, and almost everything in it. He has one car. I do have my car, and my personal things, like clothing, books, cd's, etc. My furniture mostly consists of things given to me or things I've made. Except my car (which is showing a NADA value of about $10,000, surprisingly) I don't own anything worth any money (except I do really want to keep my books and things). My washer, dryer, freezer, and TV are VERY old and were given to me. All my jewelry together is probably worth about $200.

I am hoping to get a refund back on my taxes, due to earned income credit (we have one child), but I have to pay self-employment tax on those odd jobs plus this past year he did pay some court-ordered temporary alimony, which I think is also taxable? So I don't know yet how my taxes will come out.

Some of the creditors for furniture, credit cards, etc. and now (according to court records) even his divorce attorney are listing me. My name is on the mortgage and 2nd mortgage. I had to show up in court for some of these and have had a hearing set.

My attorney told me I would have to file bankruptcy. However, I don't even have an attorney anymore, as I can't afford to pay him the extra few thousand he wanted to stay on the case. I borrowed most of the money for his fees, and I don't want to borrow more. That was from friends and I will have to pay it back.

The divorce (which has been so drawn out and financially draining) should be over, for better or worse, in a few months as we finally have a date set for final hearing. To tell you the truth, I don't want any alimony from him, although I DO hope to get custody of our child and I would like child support or else it will be almost impossible to provide well for the child. But I don't want to pay for his expensive house, or fancy furniture, or over-priced attorney, especially when I have none of these things.

I honestly can't afford an attorney to handle all of this, and really don't quite know what to do. I wish I knew if I should expect the judge to say I have to be responsible for his/"our" debts, when I own none of the property. Or, if the judge says I don't have to pay, will they still harass me, and will I still have bad credit?

I have a place to live only because I am renting from my bosses' friend, but I am not under lease. If I lose my place to live, I'm not even sure if I can rent another with my (probably) horrible credit. And my car is about 6 years old and won't last forever. I will eventually need good credit.

(Oh, about the car, it is almost paid off and I think I can finish paying for it.)

I know I'm not even asking any concrete questions here ...

My civil hearings (for the debts) are coming up in a few months, just after the final date for the divorce hearing. The judge said they can't discharge debts even if he is told to pay. And he hasn't paid almost all of the debts, to my knowledge, nor does he even bother showing up for court. He has default judgments against him, but he can't be garnished so he doesn't care.

I REALLY don't want to get stuck paying for his house, car, furniture, and attorney ... that is just SO unfair when he won't even pay for our child's schoolbooks and piano lessons and I'm paying for all those expenses on less than $150 a month child support right now.

Sorry so long, but any input or advice is MUCH appreciated!

Serendipity

[woeisme]

Sorry to hear about your situation, sounds painful. Glad the divorce part will soon be over for you, although of course that isn't the end of the issues.

You might be held liable for joint debt taken out during the course of the marriage, regardless of what the final divorce settlement says about who should pay what. (Creditors don't care what the divorce settlement is, it's not binding on them so they could still try to get judgements against you.)

With your income, I think you could easily qualify for a CH 7 I think. Your equity in your car might be your only problem, I know you said it was worth $10,000, so it's really going to depend on how much you still owe on it. BK trustees don't want your normal household items, just big ticket things, so if you don't have too much equity in the car, you could have a no-asset CH 7 which would relieve you of all responsibility for the marital debt I think. If you filed pro se (without an attorney) you would just have to pay the filing fee, which is under $300. You will want to get a book on CH 7 BK from the library and plan to spend a lot of time asking questions and getting help with the forms.

WHy only $150 a month in child support if your husband is making $7000 per month? My husband makes less than $3000 a month, and had to pay about $600 per month in child support to his ex for their son, as well as pay for his health insurance and 1/2 any medical/dental bills. The state based it on his and her incomes (she makes about $1200 a month, which is about what you bring in.) So unless your state has vastly different rules, it seems unreal that they would only award $150 a month in child support. My step-daughter's ex-husband only makes minimum wage, and has to pay $200 a month for their daughter, so your child support amount sounds totally out of line considering your ex's income.

Keep asking questions here and best of luck to you!

[Serendipity]

The child support is a bit complicated. There are worksheets but ... everyone says it didn't go as it should have.

Basically, we are on mandatory 50/50 custody until the divorce is finalized and I think the general presumption is not to allow much child support. But I still have to pay for my end of the child's living expenses, as well as any extra expenses. He doesn't pay anything associated with school, or lessons, and won't drive her anywhere so I have to do it (and with the price of gas that's getting difficult, not to mention wear and tear on the car) as well as the child asks me for clothes and anything else because it seems he won't buy that either.

Anyway, enough on that. Thanks for the info. I'm going to try to post a more specific question on the car if I can find the proper forum, as that seems my main concern.

Thank you!
Serendipity

[CindyLou]

If you are entitled to spousal support you should take it or you are only doing yourself and your child a diservice!!!!!!