Personal Bankruptcy Bankruptcy & Divorce

[kelmeister]

My situation involves an verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive wife who has financially, run me into the ground due to her lack of employment, alcoholism, and drug addictions. I am considering both divorce & bankruptcy, however not at the same time. Which should be done first?

 

[Theresagail]

Divorce then Bankruptcy-- you need to keep in mind that the bankruptcy laws are different now-- you will have to 1st pass a means test to see if you qualify for bankruptcy--- however-- File the divorce 1st.

 

[kelmeister]

appreciated.

 

[rockettt]

Divorce then Bankruptcy-- you need to keep in mind that the bankruptcy laws are different now-- you will have to 1st pass a means test to see if you qualify for bankruptcy--- however-- File the divorce 1st.

Do you know by any chance what these laws entail or better yet what the means test consist of?

 

[Apostile]

If you think you're headed for divorce and have a lot of debt between the two of you, it might make sense to file for bankruptcy before starting a legal divorce proceeding. Filing bankruptcy first can simplify the divorce by clearing out some of your debt. This can make it easier to negotiate how the remaining debts should be divided, and protect you from your soon-to-be-ex's bankruptcy filing down the road.

Also, you and your spouse might want to consider filing a joint bankruptcy before the divorce. Not only will this make the final division of any remaining debts even easier, but filing a joint bankruptcy is cheaper than filing two separate ones.

In either event, bankruptcies and divorces have serious impacts on each other, especially with respect to your property and personal finances.

 

[luvsspike]

I was going to start a new thread, but this had the title I wanted so I will ask my question here. My husband and I are separated. We are still very friendly with one another and work together on everything with our kids. We live in the Southwest where property values have declined quickly and we are about $100,000 upside down in our house. The second mortgage is about 90,000. I have helped him keep current as we would like to keep the house for our children. We have spoken to two different attorneys. One said the file 13 together BEFORE the divorce; the other said my husband should file 13 by himself, then we divorce, then I file 7. The one goal we have is keeping the house that our children grew up in. It's been very difficult for me in maintaining a separate household and helping him, so eliminating the second mortgage would be the answer. Does anyone have any suggestion about these differening views? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Theresagail]

I would listen to the 1st attorney-- otherwise you are paying for 2 a chapter 7 and 13---- Just do one and be done with it--- the 13 is a 5 year plan -- so you two will be wrapped up in the bk for @ least 5 yrs