dont know what to do

[Mango]

Hi
I have posted here perviously. I dont know what to do...i have over 100,000 in debt, (student loans and unpaid CC). The student loans dont bother me as I am on an income based repayment plan and i am paying those. My worry is the CC debt.. I havent paid a cc in over three to four years..I have had some collcetion letterrs, but no one has started a lawsuit..yet. I dont own anything, i rent an apt. i drive a 15 yr old vehicle and i earn less than 20,000 per yr. I dont know what to do..should i keep ignoring the cc debt as i have been doing..does it eventually drop off my credit report? Or should i file BK? I dont have much in my savings acct, and filing BK would wipe that out to pay for it...I am worried about filing BK becasue i rent my homes, and if i should have to move, no one will rent to me with a BK , and also i worry about future jobs because employers do background checks...just dont know what to do...

[SMinGA2]

If no one is coming after you, there is probably no harm in doing nothing for now. The upside to filing bankruptcy now would be to get it behind you, in case a creditor ever does try to get a judgment. But you can research your state's laws regarding statute of limitations for credit card debt. Some its as short as 3-4 years, where I am its 6. It starts counting from when an account first went delinquent to the point that it was never made current again. If SOL has expired, it means that should someone try to sue you - you have a clear defense.

[kornellred]

SMinGA2's reply to the OP is spot-on. The Statute of Limitations issue is a bit more complicated than it would otherwise appear, however. Any kind of acknowledgement of a debt, even inadvertently, can reset the SOL clock (that is not to say it will). As far as being sued by a creditor is concerned - there is not much they can get from you, but if they do manage to get a judgment, they will go after whatever they can. And it's a royal PITA playing cat-and-mouse with the creditors afterwards. Bankruptcy is worth it merely to totally avoid such a possibility in the future.