Where do we stand?

[BN1964]

I'll try to make a long story short...

Owned a small business in MD which we closed in April 2009. Vendors never attempted to collect (no personal guarantees). The business is where most of our personal CC debt came from... and we had/have a lot of it! We stopped paying in June 2009.

We also had a mortgage on a large boat on which we lived on. We moved to FL (on the boat) in 2010 and stopped paying the mortgage on the boat in Oct 2010. The boat was repoed approx October 2011. Shortly after the boat was sold at auction all collection attempts on the mortgage stopped cold.

We have no Judgments against us but several collectors that we get mail from on a regular basis. We use a mail service for mail and as our residency address. All perfectly legal in FL. My car is registered with that address as well as our FL dl's. Our life has been on a cash basis since 2009 although we do have a bank account and typically don't keep more that $200 in it... just in case.

So here is the conundrum... We really don't want to file BUT we would also like to come out of hiding. I also have a new small business I would like to start. I'm not worried about credit, more about possible exposure the collection companies that may come out of the woodwork.

I understand that it's hard to give clear cut answers based on the limited information you have. I'm just looking for any possible pit falls we may encounter as we start making ourselves more "public" etc...

[justbroke]

I can't really say what would happen to you specifically. So long as there is no fraud and you don't have creditors that would challenge dischargeability of the debt that you owe them, or, on a grander scheme, challenge the entire discharge, you could get that fresh start and come out from the cold.

If there are collection companies, let them come out of the woodwork. The debt would be discharged. My concern would only be with original creditors and any angle that they may have when it comes to dischargeability.

[lillymarlene]

BN1964, after you open your new business, you just might tell any creditors that call that you are a new business, a totally separate entity.

I had inherited an already debt ridden small business that I closed in 2010. I had a lot of credit card debt, most of which was from trying to keep this business going. My name may also have been on a secured business loan, with my father. I have not been bothered personally by many creditors after filing, however a few have called my brother, who right now still has a "public" retail location. He usually tells them he's a separate entity, etc., and he has a different tax id number than his deceased father had.

[BN1964]

Thanks for the reply's. I don't plan on filing though... I am approaching the 5 year mark on everything but the boat.