quilterj

Can anyone tell me that to fill a joint bankruptsy do the credit cards need to be joint? Like he has a couple of his own and I have a couple and we don't own a house and are paying on 2 vehicles but want to file on the cards together. That is all we want to file.

ckcowl

you need to talk to a bankruptsy lawyer in your area- different states have different rules and there are different (types) of bankruptsy. you should be able to take advantage of a free 1/2 hour consultation with an attorney to get your questions answered & proceed in the right direction.

BellaBoo

With the new bankruptcy laws I don't think you get to choose what you want. There are community agencies that can help you file.

sewmary

Bankruptcy is not a do-it-yourself thing. Make sure you have a lawyer specializing in bankruptcy or make sure that the community agency knows what they are doing. Having watched family members do this, get good help.

Susan G.

You have to owe at least $10,000 to file. If you don't owe that much you will probably have to do something else.

coopah

Talk to a lawyer. It will be money well spent. An acquaintance filed and they even took her personal stuff. I mean personal, like shoes, clothes, etc. It would not be something to try on your own. Sorry to be negative, but there's an old saying, "Better safe than sorry."

Sheila_H

I would look to see which lawyer's offer a free consultation and go in and talk to them, as other's have stated the laws are different in each state. My understanding is you have to list all of your debts and how much you owe to each. Then there are different levels of bankruptcy and depending on how much you have left over from your monthly budget will determine how much you need to pay. I'd definitely get an appointment with a lawyer.

StarofMoonDancer

Call legal aid and chat with them this last for 7 years on your record and you cannot get credit of any kind
until it is over. I have never filed but know of some who have.

Elisabeth J

We contacted a credit counseling service first before we went bankrupt. They were not able to help us because it was business not personal. We ended up with a bankrupcy lawyer. Bankrupcy is a federal thing not controled by the states. You are allowed to exempt 1 car, 1 house, no stocks and bonds, savings, coin collections, art work, etc. You get the picture. We filled chapter 13 and we are 3 years into our 5 year pay off. They have different plans, you really need a lawyer to help you through this. Bankrupcy can challenge everything you did for 1 year before you filed. Our problem came with the 1 year period. We had received a house from his late mother. We sold it within the year before we went bank rupt. The bankrupcy court wanted to know how much we sold it for was it sold at fair market value and what we did with the money. If you are thinking of bankrupcy and all you want to get out from under is credit cards, then I would check with consumer credit counseling first. But, beware of the scams. The real site is free. I would contact you local BBB and find out if there is a CCC in your area. Good luck!!

Woodster

When you file BK, you do get to put which creditors you want to cover in it, but it's by no means a simple process. Depends on your financial situation how involved things will get. You need to go through a bankruptcy lawyer without a doubt. You might want to find a loan consolidator to help you out, or contact your credit card companies and tell them that you're in financial difficulty and you need to get assistance from them on lowering your interest rate and setting up payment plans. They'll be happy to work with you. Some sort of payment from you is better than nothing in their eyes. Good luck, and know that you are not alone in your situation! You'd be amazed at how many people have lost everything due to the economic conditions, and are working towards starting over.