Archive for January, 2009
I’m Worried About What to Tell My Creditors About My Upcoming Bankruptcy. – Janet
Janet wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, Married with no dependents & in over our heads – we are going to a lawyer soon about bankruptcy – there is no other way – I am horrible depressed – talked to a few creditors & all they want to do is stop one payment no matter that I tell them the following month we would be no further ahead with that solution. I was told to stop putting “good money to bad” by making payments to them when bankruptcy is right around the corner so we stopped now what do I tell them when they call about the late payments (one month so far)? How do I get them to stop calling work & calling at 7 in the AM? Janet” Dear Janet, The sooner you file bankruptcy , the faster this will be over. Once you file bankruptcy you will get a case number from the court. The next time your creditors call, advise them you have filed bankruptcy and give them the case number. Tell them at that time that any further communications on the debt in question should be directed to the office of your bankruptcy attorney . In the meantime you can advise any collector that calls the office that “my employer does not permit these types of calls at work”. That key phrase will stop some collectors from calling work again. If your filing is imminent it does not make any sense to send any more payments to your creditors. It sure sounds like you wanted to make arrangements to repay your debt in a reasonable and affordable way but creditors just don’t seem to want people to do this. The terms they generally extend to people in trouble and weak and half-hearted most of the time. Big hug. Steve Source: I’m Worried About What to Tell My Creditors About My Upcoming Bankruptcy. – Janet Other Related Articles to Read If You Went Bankrupt But Did Not Include All Your Debt, Read This. Recent Searches for Debt Advice Would I Run Into Trouble Filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy? – Lee I’m Just Starting to Become Delinquent With Credit Cards And Going to File Bankruptcy. Should I Tell My Creditors? – Laura Chandra Wants to Know How to File Bankruptcy For Free
Retired, 45, Pregnant, and Afraid of Losing the House to Foreclosure. – Cris
Cris wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form . I’m happy to help you totally for free. Income from the GetOutOfDebt.org site advertising is used to help alleviate poverty . If you would like to help me to help others, there are easy and free things you can do, click here to learn how you can help . “Dear Steve, My husband and I moved to a rural town to semi-retire at the ages of 45. We found that after 22 years of marraige, we were pregnant with our first child. We were doing fine with both of us working but after the baby was born, I stopped working to stay home with her. It was tight but workable. Then my husband got laid off and hasn’t found another job that pays as well. The first thing we wanted to do was sell the house and move somewhere where the job market was better but found out that our house lost 1/3 it’s value since we bought it and we owe more on it than we can sell it for. We have been taking cash advances on our credit cards to pay the mortgage and living expenses. I am having a very hard time finding a job where there is any money left over after paying for child-care so I’m still home with the baby. Now we can’t pay our bills. This will be the first time in 20 yerars that we will be late on anything. We have gotten advice to stop paying our credit cards and advice that says to hurry up and get behind in the mortgage so we can get a mortgage modification. We don’t want to lose the house and are afraid of bankruptcy. What should we do? Cris” Dear Cris, Honestly, in this economy, I think the odds are more likely that this situation is not going to get better any time soon. The minute you started taking cash advances from the cards to get by that was a huge warning flag and klaxon going off. Here is the problem. It is highly unlikely that you and/or your husband are going to find new employment that will allow you to pay off the exceptionally high interest rate cash advances and to get out of your house. You are trapped and drowning in more and more debt. The cash advance trap is just that, a trap. Under current law a cash advance, the highest interest rate charged on your card, can’t be paid off until the entire card is paid off. If you read your terms and conditions you will find that your repayment dollars are applied to the lowest interest rate charges first. This is to keep you building up debt to the creditor at the maximum cash advance rate. The advice you’ve been given is great for getting the creditors attention but I have two issues with that advice. First, it does not solve the underlying problem of a lack of employment in your area. Second, I’m hearing from more and more people that their lender is being unresponsive to modification requests. You could sit for months waiting for an unresponsive lender, only able to survive on what, more cash advances? That’s not a sustainable plan. It’s just digging you deeper into the debt hole. I don’t see any improvements in the short or medium range to the economy. It’s a gamble but I think the safer thing to do for you, your baby, your income and your future may be to cut your losses now and move. If you decide to do that then pick a place, put in a rental application, and then let the house go back to the bank and file bankruptcy to discharge your debt and start over. You can click here for a free bankruptcy consultation . If that course of action seems reasonable to you then I would urge you to meet with a local bankruptcy attorney first, coordinate your plan, and then put it into action. Big hug. Steve Source: Retired, 45, Pregnant, and Afraid of Losing the House to Foreclosure. – Cris Other Related Articles to Read I’m Retired and Do What I Want at 49. My Mother Was In An Accident And Lost Her Job And Can’t Pay – Paula I’m Recently Divorced and Trapped in an Upside Down Mortgage – Frank Teresa Wants Quick Cash to Not Become Homeless Emily Wants to Know “I’m Pregnant And Got My Hours Cut. What Do I Do?”
All that hard work undone in two years – YourNepean.com
All that hard work undone in two years YourNepean.com, Canada - Jan 31, 2009 We’re not saying there’s no good debt – mortgaging a home is the obvious example – but the default answer shouldn’t always be pulling out the credit card . …
All that hard work undone in two years – Barrhaven This Week
All that hard work undone in two years Barrhaven This Week, Canada - 11 minutes ago We’re not saying there’s no good debt – mortgaging a home is the obvious example – but the default answer shouldn’t always be pulling out the credit card . …
Ten Reasons not to get overexcited by the TFSA – National Post
Ten Reasons not to get overexcited by the TFSA National Post, Canada - 1 hour ago … place to put their funds: make an RRSP contribution, pay down non-deductible debt or mortgage, or pay down against high-cost credit card debt . …
Peter Redman For Financial Post – Financial Post
Peter Redman For Financial Post Financial Post, Canada - 37 minutes ago Many investors may prefer to "make an RRSP contribution, pay down non-deductible debt or mortgage or pay down high-cost credit card debt ," Baldwin says. …
Giant Carpet closure pulls rug out from under resident – Georgina Advocate
Giant Carpet closure pulls rug out from under resident Georgina Advocate, Canada - 2 hours ago He put down a $2000 deposit and, nearing the day the installers were to begin, the rest of the $7600 bill was deducted from his credit card . …
SFU PEOPLE IN THE NEWS – January 30, 2009 – Simon Fraser University News
SFU PEOPLE IN THE NEWS – January 30, 2009 Simon Fraser University News, Canada - 3 hours ago The Surrey-North Delta Leader quoted marketing prof Lindsay Meredith as saying consumers should pay off credit-card debt —and should call their credit-card …
Work through the savings equation – Financial Post
Work through the savings equation Financial Post, Canada - 3 hours ago Many investors may prefer to "make an RRSP contribution, pay down non-deductible debt or mortgage or pay down high-cost credit card debt ," Baldwin says. …
If You Went Bankrupt But Did Not Include All Your Debt, Read This.
Recently I answered a question from Lynn, “ My Car Went Missing From My Driveway Because My Ex-Husband Didn’t Make The Payments. ” In that question she brought up the fact that she had gone bankrupt but had not included all of her debts in her bankruptcy and now she was in trouble with those debts not included. I went to my famous bankruptcy attorney friend, “Lisa”, and asked her to give us all some additional feedback about the situation. Here is what she said. “The most common bankruptcy MISTAKE! I’ve heard it a million times: “Oh, I don’t want to file bankruptcy on [my car, my house, my dentist, the loan with my relatives, etc.]– I can pay THAT, I just need to file on my other bills!” Or, “I did not list my student loans [taxes, etc.] because I know I cannot get rid of those debts in bankruptcy .” News Flash : You are NOT ALLOWED to “choose” which debts you list. You are REQUIRED, under penalty of perjury, to list everything you owe, without exception! Your lawyer told you this and probably gave it to you in writing, but let’s face it, when you’re under financial stress and the emotional upheaval of a bankruptcy filing we don’t tend to take in every important detail like we do under ordinary circumstances. Only certain debts are forgiven or discharged, but they must ALL be listed. Now just because you are required to LIST all of your debts in your bankruptcy , does not mean that they will all go away. But I want to pay [my Doctor, mother, etc]! No problem, as long as you do it after you file. Just because you list a debt, does not mean that you cannot later voluntarily pay that debt after your case is filed. It only means that you cannot be legally forced to pay the debt if it is discharged in your bankruptcy . Be aware that if you pay family members or other “insiders” prior to filing your bankruptcy , those family members may be sued to get the money you paid them back. This is because bankruptcy law requires that you not “prefer” one creditor over another prior to your bankruptcy . Everyone would rather pay their parents than the credit card company, but bankruptcy law doesn’t allow you to make such preferential payments. For details about this and what you can do, consult your bankruptcy lawyer . Now to address a few specifics in your inquiry: Any secured property that you wish to keep after your filing must be kept contractually current (payments and insurance). The fact that you trusted this to someone else will not serve as an excuse. There are two issues: (1) will you be liable for any debt remaining after the sale of the vehicle or home and (2) can you somehow “keep” the home or get the vehicle back. You will not be liable for any balance on the vehicle or the home after your bankruptcy , but if you do not properly add these creditors to your bankruptcy filing (and in Chapter 7 your time to do this is limited) the creditors will not know that you filed bankruptcy and they may well try to pursue for the debts. Therefore you should correct your error of failing to list any creditors you owed on the date you filed your case as soon as possible. Your lawyer will tell you what to do and what you will owe in fees and filing fees to add your omitted creditors. Given that over $10,000 is due in a few days on the house, you will have to decide whether it is realistic to attempt to salvage the home based on your ability to make payments, the value of the home above the amount you owe (if any). If it makes sense based on these factors, you will need to work with the mortgage company directly, or if that is not possible, convert your case to chapter 13 so that you can cure the amount you are behind over a 3 to 5 year repayment plan. Your lawyer can best advise you. Finally, you should be aware that you may receive 1099 forms for forgiveness of debt. Know that if this happens, you should use the IRS form 982 that lets you avoid liability for any debt forgiveness you got as a result of bankruptcy . ” Thanks “Lisa” Steve Source: If You Went Bankrupt But Did Not Include All Your Debt, Read This. Other Related Articles to Read Would I Run Into Trouble Filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy? – Lee I’m Just Starting to Become Delinquent With Credit Cards And Going to File Bankruptcy. Should I Tell My Creditors? – Laura Misty Didn’t Have Health Insurance And Got Sick. Now The Bills Are Rolling In. Robert is a Farmer, a Contractor and Behind in Bills Shane is Out of Work, Out of Money and Out of Time