Hi everyone Questions I hope I get some help...

[fncbj]

Hi everyone,
I just found this site and I am so greatful.Thank you

I am married with 3 children

2 yrs ago I gave up my job to stay home with my youngest I went on maternity leave I was in the education field Now I am finding it hard to get back into the field and where I live To afford gas now I would have to travel and hour just to get there Its really not worth it Kwim ?

My husband is working.

We had to turn for assistance from the goverment for medical help

We cant afford our minimum payments on our credit cards Christmas we used our credit cards We wouldnt be able to afford anything for the kids if we didnt use them
We have a car payment rent credit cards plus utilities

My husband is not making that much.

Im afraid that we are going to lose everything We are having to do with out so much and I am really getting worried

Do you think its beneficial for us to go bankrupt ?
How do you afford to pay the lawyer ?
Will they take my car away ?
We are renting/ What will happen with the house ?
If one credit card is only in one spouses name with the other spouse still claim bankrupsy?
What is the wait after you used a credit card that you can claim bankrupsty?
WE owe 22,000.00 in credit card debt and 9,000.00 on our vehicle I just dont know where to turn

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Only the spouse whos name the unsecured debt is in, would be filing.

What happens to the car depends on how much equity (if any) you have in it. If you have equity, as long as not too much, you can probably keep it.

The rental house would be unaffected, thats where you live, they can't kick you out.

You want to wait 6 months after using the credit cards to file. In the meantime, if you need to save money for an attorney you can stop paying on your unsecured debts.

It will generally ruin your credit score for a couple years. If you aren't planning to obtain new credit anytime soon, its entirely liveable.

[SinkingFast]

If you're living in a rental situation, filing BK won't affect you. Unless you are looking at moving.

If you file Ch 7, no one will rent to you while your in an active BK filing. Anytime in the 90-120 day time period before you're discharged, you can include Creditors. And Landlords know that. So if you're planning a move, get that done before you file. Or have enough time allotted to file, get discharged first, and then move.

Also, New Law, BK won't prevent an eviction. So if you've not been paying your rent and hoping filing BK will help keep you in your home and your Landlord out of your hair, it won't. Your Landlord can continue with an eviction that's in process or move for a lift of the automatic stay to get you evicted.

What State do you live in and we can help you more with some of your questions.

[fncbj]

Thanks No we are able to pay rent on our house we havent missed a payment -- Just recently with our credit cards It was a day late and they took the interest rate from 1.9 % Now its 19 % and they doubled our minimun payment from 350 to 700 ... 1 day late and thats what they do anyways I appreciate everyones comments I live in Upstate Ny ... Oh I still owe on my car 9,000.00 left Would my Husband be able to keep his credit card if I was filling Or vice versa ??

[LostOne0069]

If it's only one credit card company and you were only late one day the one time, you might want to try calling them and seeing if they'll lower your rate back down. Explain what happened and let them know that with the new interest rate and payment that you may be forced into bankruptcy and they may work with you.

As for only one persons name on the card and not having one spouse affected by bankruptcy of the other... you might want to check and see if your state is a "community property" state... I don't know for sure what the laws are in regards to bankruptcy and community property states, but I know that if you live in a community property state and one spouse takes out a loan... the other spouse is also liable for that loan, even if they didn't sign anything. In this case I don't know if bankruptcy would truly wipe the debt or just push it to the other spouse.

With only $22k of credit card debt, I'd REALLY try working with your creditors... especially if it's only one or two creditors.

As for "having" to use credit cards... well, for food or living I can understand... but the Christmas thing doesn't hold water for me... Our kids got hugs and explanations that presents for b-days and Christmas weren't going to be able to happen for a while. We may be more open with our kids than most, but I think you'd be suprised at how loving and understanding your children can be when you're honest with them. Don't burden them with all the hairy details, just explain that things are going to be tight for a while and that everything will be fine but it's just going to take a bit of time to get there.

Good luck!