Should I file bankruptcy if my debts are old?
My husband and I have about ,000 in past due debt right now. My main question, should I file bankruptcy if our debts are already old? According to Experian, "This account is scheduled to continue on record until Nov 2012" …actually some start coming off 2010 through 2012. I don’t know how confident I am that they will be off my record come 2010-2012…but if I file bankruptcy it will be 2019! can anyone give me advice on this…do the negative reports actually come off and if so, when? Or should I file bankruptcy? Sooo confused!!
Thank you all for your help. To add more details Jimbo – We do own our own home, I am not being garnished at work but my husband and I both have received Judgements on a few of our accounts..mine a few years back. His most recently in 2008. But no garnishments have come about from this…
Thank you! If I did not show up for court…is the judgement automatically awarded?
You’ve got some great answers….to add to this, even though you have the judgements, a word of advise, seeing I do this for a living….If a judgement is obtained today…I can get a garnishment submit only 10 days after being awarded the judgement. So, just because you have the judgement, doesn’t mean they won’t attach leins or garnish wages, and they can garnish your checking account up to 100%, with no notice either. You can get more bankruptcy information from their official website, http://www.usbankruptcy.gov Depending on your income, and passing a means test, a good bankruptcy will be able to tell you what you would qualify for after looking at your income for the last 6 months, assets, debts and 3 or 4 years of taxes. The website I provided will give you more information on what is required and what each chapter entails. Good Luck!
August 14th, 2010 at 9:24 amAdditional Information: CatDad has some good advice as well…you can check your statue of limitations for your state @ http://www.bcsalliance.com If you were served paperwork for a court date and the creditor was suing you, yes, if you don’t show up it grants the plaintiff an automatic default judgment. Check the statue of limitation, but, if your credit report is showing the dates they debts fall off, that’s the statue of limitation date right there…it’s from the date of your last payment, not when they charge off or write the account off. By the Fair Debt Credit Act, yes, they have to take them off. If they don’t you need to call them at that time and tell them to remove them.
You have to meet the federal guidelines for filing BK, just because you want to clean up your credit is not a reason for filing BK.
Just wait and let the debts naturally fall off, at this point the negative impact of those past due/collection/charge-off accounts has lessened dramatically.
August 14th, 2010 at 9:24 ammaybe you should find a local bankruptcy lawyer and consult with them. they’ll have more information and be able to help you decide. besides, if you do decide you need to file, you’ll already have them ready to help you.
August 14th, 2010 at 9:24 amYou answered part of your question yourself. Filing at this date will prolong the misery. There are parameters you have to define for us. Do you own your home ? Are you presently being sued ? Are you being garnished at work ? If the answers to these questions are no then do not file at this point. Remember a chapter 7 is on your credit for ten years but a lot of credit applications will ask you is you EVER filed bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is the final thing to do. Good luck.
August 14th, 2010 at 9:24 amThere is a statute of limitations for credit card debt, which is the amount of time that they can successfully take legal action against you for the debt. This time period varies for each state. You can find this time period for your state by going to the link below and looking under "Open Accounts."
http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/statuteLimitations.shtml
If your debt is older than the time period listed for your state, they can no longer defeat you in any court action because the debt is time-barred and you don’t have to pay it back.
FYI: Making recent payments on debt can reset the statute of limitations. If your debt is outside the statute of limitations for your state, then you don’t need to file for BK
August 14th, 2010 at 9:24 amHi,
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