help needed for the mom-in law

Have you talked to an attorney recently, or only in 2005? He is right, that if they were to get a judgement there would be little they could get on a fixed income and only 1/3 stake in a house. Much depends on which state you live in. Some are more debtor friendly than others.
Law Student
San Francisco, California

BTW you mentioned "fixed income". They can't garnish SS, and bankrupcy, most retirement accounts are exempt, sometimes they can be garnished though. You can lose your "personal exemption" from a retirement account sometimes if it is shown you'd been drawing large sums out to pay bills, etc. I read a Bankruptcy court summary about a week ago in which this happened.

Depending on your state, they may not even be able to get at the homestead. I suggest you consult with another bankruptcy attorney or someone at a legal aid office for a second opinion. The first lawyer may be right, but he/she may be trying to sell the service of creating a trust. It never hurts to get a second opinion.

FYI: In Texas, the homestead is exempt from creditors except the mortgage lender.

Thanks lawstudent & TexasLawyer - we are in Illinois - I haven't really had much contact with this atty since this all started. I faxed over a letter that she had gotten from one CA, but when I call the office, either he isn;t getting messages, or he never calls back. This is surprising to us, because we have used this guy for several things and to buy our home, and he was always great - known him for years. But my confidence is slipping. It just seems contradictory to me that in one instance they can't take 1/3 of a house, but yet she couldn't file because they would make her sell. But that is still the same 1/3 so I don't get it. Her fixed income is from ss that's all she gets. And my deadbeat bro-in-law that lives there really doesn't help her out & she should have tossed him years ago - but that is a WHOLE other story. Don't mean to sound stupid, but where would I go for a legal aid office? We try & help her out with a little extra $ for food, and we pay her property taxes but I can't really pay huge atty fees. Would it be too late for her to still file bankruptcy? She has not paid on any of these since 11/05. If I had known alot of what I have learned from this board, I would have advised her differently and I would have questioned the atty more.

I believe she gets around $830 per month - that is it. So you would think that these creditors would realize there is no way she could pay $72,000 worth of debt - she is 73 years old! Wouldn't they look at that before they would sue? And if she did try bankruptcy, would they actually make her go for counseling? Kinda seems redundant at this point.

PLUS - I don;t know how much this would factor in either. As I said My hubby & myself are on the house with her. This is because 10 years ago we purchased a business, and needed a loan. It was mostly a good faith business and could not get a business loan so we applied a 2nd mortgage to get the funds needed, that is why our names were put on there. Now, I make the payments on that each month thru my company, and it is current...so I am thinking there isn't as much equity? Plus, it does show up on my credit report - but not hubby's. I think that because I am listed as second on it. So would a bankruptcy affect me? Such a mess!!