No Job - No Money - What Happens?

bk is a requires you live in a state for so long? anyway, the accounts after 180 will have a charge off status and will remain on your credit report that way for 7 yrs +180 days which is a very long time. The accounts may or may not be sold to other collection agencies. The ones that are sold, the new collection agency will put another collection account in your credit file for 7yrs + 180 days from DOFD. WHich is a double slammy on your score.

With that said, the creditors/collection agency will come after you for payment. They are very annoying and will call several times a day. If the debt is within your states statute of limitations, they may utilize the court system and sue you for the debt. If this happens, a judgement will issued and appear for another 7 yrs and the third slammy on your credit file for the same debt.

Please note, some collection agencies may sue you in court and others may not. This is strictly their choice, and they may not do it. I personally have several charge off debts that passed the statute of my state and I was never sued for them. But the collection agency will continue to try to collect the debt anyway despute SOL. Some may even sue on outta sol debt. But if this happens, sol is the affirmative defense..

End results, your score will tank massively and you may be sued.

Since your accounts are still with the original creditor, I would attempt to keep it with them and try to avoid having it sent to a collection agency.

If I???ve learned anything during my journey to get out of debt, it is that communication is the key! You need to contact the creditor and inform them of your situation. Take a look at the site???s sample letter ???Letter to request creditor for alternative payment plan??? and send with it some sort of payment???.even if it???s just $5???.to show that you are serious about your situation and your intent.

If it goes to a collection agency the guest above explained the process pretty well. If I were in your shoes I would attempt to avoid it???.contact the creditor via mail. Make sure to send it certified return receipt. If they see you making an effort they may work with you!

Good luck!

Thanks to both of you for the information you provided. I did call Chase today and told them I do want to work with them.

I will take the advice of sending the letter with a small payment and ask if they can work with me.

Who told you this about the state you live in and not being able to file bankruptcy? Bankruptcy is Federal.

"But once a debtor or creditor seeks bankruptcy relief, federal law applies, overriding state law. This is because the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to 'establish ??? uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States' (U.S. Const. art. I, ?? 8)"

("http://law.jrank.org/pages/4651/Bankruptcy-Federal-versus-State-Bankruptcy-Laws.html")

In a free review, a bankruptcy attorney told me that in order to file bankruptcy in any state, you need 6 months residency or you need to file in the state in which you previously lived. He said if you do that, the case gets complicated and is not settled as quickly as if you file in the state in which you currently reside.

Was I misled?

Ah. Well, that's a whole different ball of wax than "I can't file".

In order to answer your question, I need 3 very important pieces of info:
1) In which State did you previously reside?
2) In which State do you currently reside?
3) What date did you move to your current state?

I'm in VA now - lived in FL before that. In 2 more months, I'll have the residency requirement. But now I wonder if I will be able to file because I am living with my brother and his wife and they both get pension income and Social Security.

Since they have taken me in rather than leave me on the street as a homeless person, will their retirement income prevent me from filing BK because it would probably exceed the household limit?

I can't pay the bills I have and I don't have any money to give my bro .... do I have to go live in a homeless shelter so that I can file?

Thanks .....

I don't think so, they are not your spouse so their income has no bearing on you. It's not welfare or anything. The definition of "family" is in IRS terminology from what I gather. "4. 'Family size' is defined as the debtor(s), the debtor's spouse (unless the spouses are separated and a joint petition is not being filed), and any dependents listed on Schedule I" [(II)(4)] from the US Courts Bankruptcy guidelines.

When you file and write up all your asset/liability paperwork, you can have them write up a notarized affidavit that states that they are giving you a place to stay for free because you have no income - it should help. I can see why that attorney ran scared - this *is* a complicated case! Maybe you should find a more intelligent attorney, or at least a less lazy one!

So, since you have been in Virginia you have had no income? 2 more months isn't too bad, maybe you should start the process a little by doing the mandatory credit counseling. You can look into that here.

Here is the Virginia State Bar's info page on Bankrupcy.

I hope this info is of use to you.

Thanks for the info. You have no idea how much this helps. I am registered with temp agencies and have had some work - but only made about $2000 so far this year. I interview almost daily - but can't seem to get anywhere.

Very depressing!

You are not the only one. Reportedly temp agencies have lost a 3rd of their workforce. Have you tried to apply to work for the 2010 Census? That seems to be the only employer looking these days. :| For more info, see "http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/employment.html"