Ok, so I am not even sure if this is an option. I am in way over my head. A year behind on 4 credit cards totalling oaver 20k, DH and I are living paycheck to paycheck and the debt is my debt solely although incurred while married. The cards are only in my name, the house mortgage is in his, the cars in his. Can I file Bankrupcy and make this go away or will it affect everything and if so what are the ramifications of doing so? and what are my options?

Only joint debt between you and your husband will get affected due to bankruptcy. If you want to go for bankruptcy filings, then the debts in your husband's name, ie. house mortgage and car loan will not get affected due to your filing.

Bankruptcy remains in your credit report for 7 years.

Let me tell you here, if I were you then I would have tried to avoid bankruptcy. Have you given a try to debt settlement? It could lessen your debt significantly (anywhere between 40 to 60%). You can also go for a comparative analysis between the different debt solutions available to you.

i plan to file bankruptcy within a month. should i stop paying all my credit cards?

phoenix, bankruptcy stays on your credit 7-10 years. It's not a blanket 7 years. It depends on the state the person is in. WI for example is the full 10 years.

If you are filing bk in a month , definately stop paying those credit cards now.

Bankruptcy is really not all that bad. If you havent paid in a year, your credit is already trashed and isnt going to recover anytime soon. If you are truly living paycheck to paycheck without any extra funds, I would definately recommend talking to a bk attorney.

i talked to a debt consolidater and i don't qualify for debt management or resolution, is my only other choice bankrupcy? if it is when do i stop drowning in 40k in credit card debt?

Bill, Kim, Danielle (original poster), your options extend beyond debt consolidation/settlement. BK is not your only avenue at this point. You could act on your own and discharge the credit cards, I can think of 2 viable means

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making the banks pay you

Mister Rodger's what are you talking about? "you can act on your own and discharge the credit cards"? What does that mean?

I am apprehensive about Mister Rodger's statement. When the concerned debt is of the amount 40k then it doesn't seem viable to go for DIY or Do It Yourself. I am not saying that it is impossible but negotiation at this stage of debt needs professional skills and experience of negotiation. Debt Settlement may be an option as it can reduce debt by half of the total outstanding or even more, depending upon the creditor with whom you are negotiating.

Bankruptcy can surly be an option if you are living paycheck to paycheck. It can come handy although your credit score and report will be heavily hampered. But needless to mention that 40K accumulated delinquent debt has already done extreme harm to your report and score. So, Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be considered to get out of debt.

Why is it that everyone comments on how bad bankruptsy is for your credit and how it hurts your credit score?? Seriously if you are that far behind on credit card payments your credit is already messed up and remain that way for 7 years from the last activity....and if the credit card company sells your account to a bill collector it doesn't stop....they collectors are reporting the lack of payment and as long as they continue to haunt you then your credit will be shot. Filing bankruptsy puts a stop to the collectors calling you, it helps you get a new start on life and in the end it's a faster way to clear your good name. It's not like you have this great score and you file bankruptsy which ruins it, your credit score probably couldn't get any worse if you tried if you are behind on payments by a year!

As far as it not effecting your husband, check if your state is a commonwealth or not, if it is the collectors can go after your husband, if not you should be able to file on your own and not hurt his credit at all, if you are in a commonwealth (like I am in Massachusetts) it will not do any good to file on your own, the debt will automatically become his. I just went through this with our house, our lives are so much better since filing our chapter 7 bankruptsy. We now have a nice little savings account to use if something breaks in our house or for other emergencies and I have learned to live without credit cards and to have some impulse control with my spending habits.

I personally would go through a debt settlement company or debt settlement program of some sort. I would try to avoid bankruptcy at all costs. and as for the credit reports, mine went back to normal after about a year of finishing the program. So in my opinion bk is the absolute last option. Do what you got to do, but i would first seek out a good settlement company and see what they can do for you at this poin maybe they cant, but i would try that first

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my blog about saving money during a recession, And my personal story about Provanta's debt settlement program and how it worked for my family

im in debt have a business and no work i cant my bills should i file bankrupcy there is no money after i pay rent lights water groceries ect

Check whether you pass the means test. After the modification of 2005 bankruptcy law, you're requird to pass the means test for qualifying for chapter 7 bankruptcy.