Your Income Tax, Rebate and Other Assets After Bankruptcy
Hi, we are from NY and are contemplating backruptcy.
Less than 12000 in debt from credit cards, med bills
I collect SSD (catastrop illness), my husband works and we live with my dad.
We have no property, house or car.
There is a garnishment for my husband, judgements for both of us, and our checking account is frozen where my SSD check & his payroll was being deposited.
My questions:
1- We need 1500 to file bankruptcy. Can I file our taxes and use the money to pay for this? Is that money considered an asset?
2- In order to receive this government rebate check you have to file your taxes first...then you will receive this rebate for x.xx per married couple. I don't want to make any decision on this that could be construed as hiding an asset.
3- Family member called to tell us that there is some kind of money "unclaimed fund" listing my husband (correct name), prior place of employment, correct years, and giving a website to register at to collect this money. He did leave that company 15 plus years ago and the new job did not have 401K so we never transferred that $ and forgot all about it. Could this money be considered asset and can we use it to pay for the bankruptcy costs?
4- With the garnishment secured off top of payroll and difficulty meeting everyday living costs, we are finding it impossible to come up with 1500. Husband wants to take on 2nd job but I fear that will not solve prob. only give additional income for garnishment or worse...be an asset. How do we solve this?
5- Another thought: Since the combination of tax money, rebate, and unclaimed money would equal approx. 6200, maybe we could skip filing altogether and try to pay off debt? If you add the plus of not having to come up with 1500 that would be 7700 approx.! This will not pay off our debt, it will not stop the garnishments, it will not protect our checking account from being frozen again, and therefore my husband is resistant to this idea. If it paid all off, cleared us for ground zero then he would agree. Otherwise, concern is what are we really acheiving.
Thank you for taking my questions, meg
Re: Your Income Tax, Rebate and Other Assets After Bankruptcy
Personally, I'd go with the last option and do what it takes to pay the thing off. Tell your husband to stop being stubborn - they're going to get their money regardless, so you might as well be cooperative and see about getting your account thawed.
You say it's a combination of credit cards and medical debt. Which creditor has frozen your checking account? The same one who filed the garnishment?
Pay off whichever is going to make your life easiest to get off your back - if that sum only covers getting your checking account unfrozen, go with that.
With whatever is left, make payment arrangements with the other creditors and STICK TO THEM.
Re: Your Income Tax, Rebate and Other Assets After Bankruptcy
Thank you for responding to my questions.
You wrote:
Personally, I'd go with the last option and do what it takes to pay the thing off. Tell your husband to stop being stubborn - they're going to get their money regardless, so you might as well be cooperative and see about getting your account thawed.
You say it's a combination of credit cards and medical debt. Which creditor has frozen your checking account? The same one who filed the garnishment?
Pay off whichever is going to make your life easiest to get off your back - if that sum only covers getting your checking account unfrozen, go with that.
With whatever is left, make payment arrangements with the other creditors and STICK TO THEM.
I agree with the last option too, but I do have some concerns.
Yes, a lawyer who has the credit card debt has filed the garnishment. I can't currently meet his payoff requests so the account is frozen. I just paid off 2 checks I had written during this "freeze" that got caught between the deposit of my SSD and my husband's payroll that week.
Now I can concentrate on resolution.
Because we have not filed any bankruptcy paperwork yet, do I understand you correctly:
? acceptable to file taxes rebate & unclaimed fund $
? consider the 1500 we would have given to lawyer for bankruptcy another amount to apply toward debt?
? target the one credit card/lawyer judgement with garnishment for my first payoff?
? what about husbands concern that we will use this money to meet the screaming demands of this one and then another will jump in and freeze us again/garnish again before we can make another move?
? my question: can this money be retained for the garnishment? I know his payroll is effected, my SSD money is not, but what about $ from the sources I outlined?
Thanks so much, meg
Re: Your Income Tax, Rebate and Other Assets After Bankruptcy
Forgive my ignorance, but I thought that SSI and the like was pretty much excluded from bankruptcy and garnishment procedures. I understand a bank account can be frozen, but if it consists of SS monies how can this be done? Also, if there is a garnishment against your state tax returns, does that also mean they can take the new fed tax rebate as well?
Thanks