married couple. both are 38. we have a child due in June.
We live in Vegas and want to move and get an affordable home. We do not own real estate. She has k and I have k in debt, both accounts are in collections. The only asset we have is 55,000 in a retirement account.

I filed Chapter 7 in 99. My current income as insurance and financial advisor is too high for 7 here in Vegas. Right now it is around k but can get much higher.

A chapter 13 concerns me because of the 3 years of payments, its effect on my credit and potential to get another good job should we move, and we may not be able to get a house should we move.

I could liquidate the retirement and pay off the debt and have about k left after taxes and early withdrawl penalties. This would also include the tax liability for the k I took from my account last year.

As a financial advisor, I know that the withdrawl we took last year was stupid.

MOM is giving me 50K for home purchase.

BK or pay?

Technorati Tags: 3 years, bk, chapter 13, chapter 7, collections, good job, insurance, married couple, mom, own real estate, retirement account, tax liability

I "settled" with several credit companies for over ,000 in debt. The IRS considers the settlement amount as earned income unless the tax payer was "insolvent" at the time of the settlement. My home has minimal equity but I don’t know how to determine the value the IRS will use in calculating my debt to income ratio. It could make a big difference in my tax liability for the past year but was better than filing for bankruptcy or losing my home. This question even seems to stump tax advisors. Any wisdom out there in Yahoo land would be appreciated.

Technorati Tags: debt to income ratio, filing for bankruptcy, irs, tax liability, tax payer, wisdom, yahoo