
Quoting
bankrupt
My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: MI
very little unsecured debt, and that's only charges from several months ago for some surprise expenses. My wife and I were generally adverse to unsecure debt.
house (primary and 2nd mortgage), easy 75-90k upside down
boat, 10k upside down
my car 10k upside down
visa card (same bank as car note, but not our primary account) 4k
all the above are in my name alone, both ownership and debt
wifes car, 5k upside down, her name, with me as co-signer
her visa - essentially zero balance
I suddenly lost my good paying job in this wonderful economy. I have no expectation of anytime soon returning to work, and when I do, expect to see a substantially lower salary. Without making house/my car/boat payments, we'll survive a year before things get really ugly.
My attorney (not BK) made several recommendations.
immediately stop making payments on all of my fixed assets and visa
He would recommend a BK attorney in about 12 months, said I'm far from needing to file.
Hinted that some of clients have made credit purchases 120 days ahead of BK filing, and had the debt discharged.
If there was any way to keep my car, it would be my preference, but he said it would be illogical to lose 10k on an inanimate object.
What is the status of our joint investment account? Should I use that to pay our bills, or will that go to satisfy my debts?
Is Chapter 7 the logical answer?
I know I'm way ahead of the game, but want to help plan through this so we can get on with rebuilding our life.