lawsuit settlement

[nmocean]

I was in a wreck several years ago and the court date is scheduled in Aug to make a long story short both myself and wife have taken 50% paycuts in our jobs we are struggling with our bills and she has scheduled an appointment with a bk attorney about filing on her own what does everybody think about me waiting to see what the settlement might be it should be enough for me to eliminate 3/4 - 100% of all me cc debt. I feel I should hold out and let her file alone. any opinions
thanks

[LadyInTheRed]

You haven't really given us enough info to tell you if we think you should file. But, I'll share my thoughts based on the little info you did provide.

You currently have a claim which is an asset that must be reported on your petition. So, you need to determine whether you can exempt the potential settlement under your state's bankruptcy exemptions. WV exemptions are at http://www.legalconsumer.com/bankrup...T=WV#homestead If you don't have home equity to protect, it looks like you can exempt $15,000 in personal injury recovery. There is also an $8,000 wild card exemption. If you don't have any home equity to protect, you have an additional $25,000 in wild card exemption.

If you can get rid of the debt and exempt the settlement, I think I'd prefer to file BK. With such drastic pay cuts, I am sure you can put that money to better use. Also, if the court date is in August, what is the hurry for your wife to file? August isn't too far away. Making decisions based on what might happen is never a good idea.

I hope you plan to go meet with the attorney with your wife. You should get his/her opinion on filing alone vs. filing together.

[nmocean]

well I was thinking I will get enough money to pay off my credit card debt I have been working overtime like a goof just to keep our head above water no most of the overtime is coming to an end. we could make is on our pay if we didnt have credit card debt and I was thinking it would be better if kept my credit rating since I make more than her

[LadyInTheRed]

Credit ratings are overrated. Besides, your credit rating will recover. Your credit rating should be your last priority when making this decision.

Do you have an emergency savings?

If you can avoid BK because of this lawsuit, that could be the right option. But, make sure you educate yourself about your options and don't make any decisions until after you know how the lawsuit turns out. I don't think your wife should file until you decide whether you are going to file. It doesn't sound like there is any reason to rush.

[nmocean]

We go to the attorney on Monday. The goof that is handling the accident has made a 50,000 mistake so I am going to get much less. We are both planning on filing, to get a fresh start. Our pay cuts have been drastic and I have been working as much overtime as I can get to keep up. I have sold my boat, my truck refianced the house to get a lower payment just trying to keep afloat. It has been so hard and frustrating. I came into some extra money with a bonus and paid 1/2 of my American Express down, as soon as I did that and never late on a payment they cut my credit to the amount that I had left to pay. They did the same thing when I went back to school several years ago and was using the card for school, they cut it in half. I have used my savings in helping us keep afloat also. It has been a real fight to keep afloat and down right disgusting, we have tried to negotiate with CC telling them about job situation, they could care less. We have vowed never to get another CC and use cash only. Cash is King.

[LadyInTheRed]

we have tried to negotiate with CC telling them about job situation, they could care less.

Yeah, I tried to get the CCs to lower my interest rate to something reasonable or to lower my minimum payment. If they had been willing to do one of those things so that I could keep paying minimum payments forever while keeping up my mortgage payments, it never would have occurred to me to file BK. It turns out they did me a favor by not budging. In another 2 years, I'll have no more cc debt and my 2nd mortgage will be gone.

[nmocean]

Ok went to the attorney this morning he looked over everything and recommended that we don't file yet. He took my wife's CC bills and wrote them letters to stop calls and contacts and said if they continue to call they will be sued under consumer credit protection and we/she won't have to file. He said there is no rush to file keep our cars and house utility bills current and student loans. According to him we are not that bad off. So that is what we are doing.