couple considering BK, overwhelmed!!

[BKlyn11218]

NYC residents, couple not married, no kids, no house, no assets, no cars.

Myself, 43 Male, UN-employed, collecting UE, currently a resident of CT, renting a room, no furniture, no car, no assets, no jewelry, no savings, no cash on hand, no hidden assets, no family inheritance, no family property, or relatives with businesses, homes or boats.
I am not being sarcastic, just mean theres no uncle, cousins, or parents, to work for or live with.

I have usually worked 4-5 year stints in jobs making 30-50k per year and amassed managable debts, with up to 1-2 years of unemployment buffered by savings, UE, otb handyman work (100-300 every few months), previously cracked $15k 401k in 2008 and around $4000 in 2002.


I moved to CT in 2012 for a job opp which went south exactly one year later,
CT is very expensive, on paper I still live there due to state benefits although i hang my head in nyc while searching for work in both states.

I currently owe 6-8k in NY state taxes from 2008-2012 which I just filed along with Federal for same years, I prob owe the IRS about 5000-10000K,
This is all past due plus penalties, fines etc etc

NYC itself is very expensive, over the course of the past twenty years I have wasted time energy and money trying to maintain a normal life with $ going to rent, propping up unsustainable relationships, moving from place to place trying to find the best deals and living sitations.

When working I take advantage of 401k and repay taxes, usually because of garnishments and collection notices, then lapse on current filings thinking ill deal with that later,

Currently, as the S will hit the fan soon, I owe about $50,000 in credit card, loans, and car repo, i received a 12k 1099 in 2012 for my car.

My understanding from reading websites and forums is that I need to get my credit reports, take a class and file myself.
Questions.
1. when should i get a credit report, if I get one today but dont file for 6 months is it still valid.
2. these classes, should i do it before or after bankruptcy?
3. should i be filing as a CT resident or a NY resident. 2012 I filed taxes late as a CT resident & part-time previous NY/NYC resident.
4. I have not paid any creditor since about 2008 and ignore offers to pay settlements, as I do not want to acknowledge debts or reset the clock on collections, should I be filing with collection agencies as creditor, or original credit cards as creditor?
5. should I include 1099 write off as a creditor? I filed form 982 for insolvency to not include that amount as income in my 2012 federal
I have no savings, and only collect UE.
6. When I went to IRS in person to get the w-2's from 2008 to current, and negotiated over the phone with NY state for a $25 a month payment plan to stop collection efforts, they told me misleading answers to my BK questions. see below**

Partner, 44 Female, lives in NYC, rent control, yes one paper we are both F*-ups.
No house, car, assets, inheritances, property or savings. Currently employed.
not married, no kids.

We are considering our mutual situations, should we be married or delay marriage after we both file BK.

I am sorry for the crazy, disorganized post,
I am hoping for some advice where to start, how to follow up, this is all overwhelming and
please someone post and answer that my GF needs to take a more active role in understanding her situation also.

** I could not make a payment plan with NY state until I filed my past tax returns 2008-20012.
Over the phone I stated that I planned to do bankruptcy, and offered to beg borrow or steal $ to pay off as a settlement offer.
They claimed that they do not offer settlements and bankruptcy will not discharge state debt or stop collections, I stated in jest that If I unsuccessfully robbed a bank, and got sentenced to 20 years but got out in 10 for good behavior, would I still owe the taxes, the answer was yes, I was like how do you collect from homeless ex-cons.
IRS rep was actually more kind in person, but could not offer advice and I did not offer any jokes,
I am considering moving to another country and renouncing my citizenship as a way of avoiding taxes and the rat race in general.

[keepmine]

There is no requirement that you have a credit report to file. It's suggested as a way to locate creditors.
You are required to take a CCCS course that's good for 180 days before you file. 45 days from the 341 meeting, you take a debt management course.
Frankly, I'd not file yet. Wait until you have some sort of safety net available like, a job with insurance benfits.Neither of you have anything that can be taken.
Whenever you file, include anyone who could conceivably have a claim-orginal creditors and collection agencies.
Since neither of you have anything, the only advantage to being married is, you can file a joint bk and just have one set of fees.

[BKlyn11218]

Currently she does not have health insurance with her employment, Only 3 of my last real jobs over the past 25 years offered HI.
In my case I consider filing as a way to end collection calls, and put an end to the collection letters.
Filing mutually as married couple or separately is a way to restore our mutual credit and move on and get serious about our futures.
We are both at the age were a deus ex machina is unlikely.
I am only lucky that the State tax lein only incurred a $120 processing fee from the bank, and most likely I will keep getting more if i get garnishments or liens from judgements.
We are a couple who has gone back and forth over the past 20 years and looking to stop screwing around and get serious, and figure out a way to escape nyc rat race. One option is to put this all behind us and stop making NYC landlords rich and settle down in a town upstate and forget high salary corporate jobs and get by without really getting ahead lowering our risks and expenditures.

[BKlyn11218]

and thank you for the reply.

[Pjmax]

Before you file, you need a plan to move forward. Without income to support your basic needs, if you file now, you may discharge some debts, but they may soon start accumulating again. Much of your tax debt is not dischargeable now, so you would still have that to deal with.

Most BK attorneys offer free initial consults. Even if you eventually file pro se, it shouldn't cost you anything to get some general basic advice. If you do get a job and can afford an attorney, you will be in a position that you've already talked to some and can choose who to go with.

Don't be too hard on yourself, whatever is past is past, time to move forward. You'll get lots of support here, you've come to the right place.

[frogger]

Before you file, you need a plan to move forward. Without income to support your basic needs, if you file now, you may discharge some debts, but they may soon start accumulating again. Much of your tax debt is not dischargeable now, so you would still have that to deal with.

That is correct. You want to bankrupt when you are starting to recover, not while you are drowning. It appears that you are still drowning, so use this time to study up on this forum, read the stickys, and use the search function for questions.

There is a wealth of information here and everyone is willing to help.

Good luck from a fellow f-up. Most of us here wear those same shoes.

[Pjmax]

Timing is often very important for a successful BK and fresh start. Look into Google Voice to handle the phone calls. You can search here on BKF. A number of people here recommend it.

[keepsmiling]

Was just about to say it and the Jersey Girl beat me to it
GV will save your sanity and it's free.
and just put all those settlement letters in a box. or burn them. whatever. those are the the least of your probs.
Btw we haven't filed yet for similar reasons. Still waiting for things to look up.
And if you want to get married, JUST DO IT.

And that was one of the MOST organized posts I've ever read

[bcohen]

In fact, if you can wait out a couple of years, you may be able to discharge the tax debt in the future.

It is longer than that for the Federal Income Taxes. In our case it needed to have been four years after we filed a certain date's Income Taxes that we attempted to have discharged. It would have worked, had we filed in April of the year in question. It turned out that our taxes for that year were filed in November. We did not qualify. So we paid through the nose....

[AngelinaCat]

I suspect that even the state cannot take anything from you, and you can request to be placed on "non-collectible status" by the IRS if you really are as broke as you say.

This actually is an interesting thought that bcohen brought up. I do not know about State Income Tax, as Florida doesn't have one yet, but by law, in Florida, the 'Head of Household' can only be garnished up to a certain percentage of the income the the Head brings home.

Since the two of you are not married, do either of you, or neither of you qualify as 'Head of the Household'? Keep in mind that I am thinking off the top of my head. It is past 1:00 AM in the morning, and I am not sleeping....