Need some input please

[reagantrooper]

Soc

I am on the verge of filing for bankruptcy not sure yet if 7 or 13. Soon before the 9 of October as I am getting married and dont want to include her in this.

I have a credit card jointly with my mother (she is the primary card holder)since 1995 and the balence had been 0 for 2 years or so.A few month ago they offered a deal with these checks of 3.99% for the life of the balence not a bad deal i thought.

So I transfered $8K to this card from other cards of mine using these checks, with a plan to pay it off in 4 years @ 3.99%. Well, best laid plan fall apart. Now I NEED to file however I cannot "screw" my Mother.

So I need to get her off of this card or somthing I have filled out the forms to remove her from this card and we have both signed them. However I dont think the CC company will remove her.

So I have a plan to efectivly reverse the balence transfer back to the original cards. It will be about $2000 per card on 4 cards. I know that doing this mybe looked down upon by the trustee.

I have been told (wink wink) by a attorney that since it's a small amout on each card the individual card companys may not contest it, even know it was so close to me filing.

I do have apointments to talk to 2 more attorneys

1.What do you think about this plan to protect good ole Mom?

2.Could tranfering this debt so close to filing for BR be construed as fraud or is it fraud?

3. If the card companies dont say or contest any of this will the judge let it slide though?

Thanks for your time!

[socrateaser]

>1.What do you think about this plan to protect good ole Mom?

From a legal standpoint, as soon as your form the intent to not pay off your debts, everything that you do to increase your debts is fraudulent. Similarly, if you
>
>2.Could tranfering this debt so close to filing for BR be
>construed as fraud or is it fraud?

See above.

>
>3. If the card companies dont say or contest any of this will
>the judge let it slide though?

The credit card companies rarely contest any of their bankrupted customer's debt. And, the judge doesn't care at all, UNLESS the Bankruptcy Trustee brings it to the court's attention.

However, the trustee's deal is that he/she gets 1% of all of the value of any assets collected for the unsecured creditors. So, unless you have money from a different source that the trustee can get, then the trustee won't do anything, either.

So, the question is, by voiding your last-minute transfer out of Mom's account, can the trustee make any money. This depends on how much money/assets Mom has. If it's a lot (house, pension, stocks, etc.), then the trustee could join Mom in your action, scream BK fraud, and Mom would have to pay here way out of the woods.

I can't advise you to commit a fraud, however, it's not clear that what you contemplate IS a fraud, because you currently owe the debt, jointly and severally with your Mom, and after the transfer, you will still owe the debt. If I were going to do something like this, I would move the money to the new account, and then make a few months of minimum payments against the account, because that would be some evidence that you still wanted to pay the debt off and hadn't formed the intent to file bankruptcy yet.

Perhaps your Mom is demanding that you relieve her of responsibility for what is not really her debt. That's reasonable, and combined with making a couple of minimum payments, that probably would keep you out of trouble. Haver Mom write you a letter stating that she's uncomfortable with her being jointly responsible for the money for debts that are actually yours alone, and that she wants you to relieve her of that responsibility.

"Look for low and away...but, watch out for in your ear!" -- Ray Liotta, "Field of Dreams"

[Kitty C.]

If you're only talking about credit card debt, and it's not an exorbitant amount, you might want to think about credit counseling instead.  DH and I did that in June and I think it's the best thing we ever did.  We're still paying the debt, but at HUGELY reduced interest rates.  And we're talking about a LARGE debt that we will have paid off in less than 5 years.

On top of that, our credit isn't blemished by having a bankruptcy on it.  Credit counseling doesn't have the stigma that bankruptcy has, but you also want to be careful whom you talk to, also.  If they ask you for a lump sum up front or if they charge you more than a minimal service fee for each account, tell them goodbye.  There's quite a few out there so you can shop around.  We only paid a $75 start-up fee and a very small percentage for each acct.  Can you imagine having a debt of over $40,000 paid off within 5 years?  And that's with a household income of less than $70,000.  We're doing it!

[reagantrooper]

Thank you for your wise words!!!!!!

As I said I need to do this ASAP I am getting married 10/9/04 I dont want to involve her if I dont have to.

1. Is it possable for me to get married on 10/9/04 and still file on my own after that?

Thanks

[reagantrooper]

Kitty
thanks for the idea but its not all CC. I am glad to hear that its working for you!

Thanks again

[reagantrooper]

Thank you for your wise words!!!!!!

As I said I need to do this ASAP I am getting married 10/9/04 I dont want to involve her if I dont have to.

1. Is it possable for me to get married on 10/9/04 and still file on my own after that?

Thanks

[socrateaser]

>1. Is it possable for me to get married on 10/9/04 and still
>file on my own after that?

If you get married before filing BK, then it becomes more likely that the BK trustee would be interested in your new spouse's assets, in order to determine if you were hiding assets in her accounts. I don't think that this is a good idea, UNLESS...

...you have a very comprehensive premarital agreement that demonstrates both you and your new wive's intention to keep your assets and liabilities entirely separate.

And, very frankly, anyone who marries without such a premarital agreement, is insane. But, of course, in your case, you have no assets to protect, so it may seem that a premarital agreement would be a waste of time -- it's never a waste of time. Divorce is the rule, not the exception, and when that day comes for you, you will appreciate having signed the agreement...

Mark my words...that day will come.