bankruptcy question

[Peony]

Very long story short (if you want more history then search for a thread of mine on this board from a couple weeks ago), we have an elderly person that we are responsible for. Not a family member but he has no else so here we are. He had a medical crisis this summer, and is now in a nursing home set to be discharged soon. He is in his 70's and no longer able to work due to his weakened state, he did not save for retirement and has no other income other then exactly 1K a month from social security. I sat down today with him and went over all his bills, there are a number of them.

He has a car that has a loan for 15K, the car is only worth 6K, it is 711.00 a month. A credit card that only has 1K on it. There are other bills that I can help him get rid of, storage units, etc... which will help but even with the basics, it is going to be really tight to make 1K a month work. He lives in low income senior housing already, rent can not get any cheaper then $375 a month. Health insurance, a phone, I don't know what out of pocket costs his meds will be now. He is going to have to pay for transportation to and from rehab 5 days a week, that runs between $10-20 a day depending which service is available. We are going to use every penny of his money and then probably some of ours and we don't exactly have wads of cash sitting around with all of my kids expensive health needs.

I looked into him just returning the car but then there is the difference of what he owes and what it is worth and the credit card, even an extra $25.00 a month is going to make a difference. I am guessing bankruptcy is his only option? Dh and I would have to pay to have it done which is fine if that is what needs to happen, but I just can't see any other ways out for him. Thoughts?

[Drummer's Wife]

Can't he get medicare (since he's over 65)? I just mention that since you said health insurance and a phone. Not that it will help with his other bills. That is a crazy high car payment for a cheap car. Is his loan only 2 years total? You're right that even with a voluntary repo he'd have the difference, at least, to pay off. Not that they be likely to come after him, being unemployed and elderly, but it would still be a hassle. I suppose bankruptcy can't hurt the situation. Can he get food stamps, or do groceries have to be budgeted in the $1k a month?

Hope you get some good advice. It's wonderful that your family is helping him out like this.

[Peony]

He is on Medicare, the insurance is a supplemental policy to cover what Medicare doesn't, it isn't that cheap either. And yes food has to come out of that as well. It will cost $15.00 a week to have one hot meal delivered 5 days a week, another must since he really isn't going to be able to cook and I can't bring him 3 meals a day.

He was upside down in his last few cars and just keep rolling the balance into the next loan.

[VroomieMama]

My DH and I just filed Bankruptcy and in my opinion, I think it wouldn't hurt if he filed.

Maybe my DH has some thoughts he could discuss in this thread.

[pitter_patter]

It sounds like bankruptcy is the only way he can have any semblance of financial security. Poor guy. You can file the paperwork without an attorney, Chapter 7 is pretty straightforward. There are filing fees involved but I think those can be paid in installments if approved by the court. Nolo Press makes a very helpful manual for filing.

[surrogate]

I would turn the car back in, at his age, I can almost garuntee that they are not gonna sue for the deficiency balance and even if they did they cannot take his social security as a garnishment. It is against the FDCPA. Same with the CC, stop paying it. They can't garnish his SSI IF they got a judgement.

If you don't completely believe me, go to creditboards dot com and go to the forums there. I learned everything I know there and did credit repair for a number of years

I wouldnt consider BK in this scenerio, because it is going to cost you money. Just turn the car in and stop paying the CC

[VroomieMama]

Originally Posted by surrogate

I would turn the car back in, at his age, I can almost garuntee that they are not gonna sue for the deficiency balance and even if they did they cannot take his social security as a garnishment. It is against the FDCPA. Same with the CC, stop paying it. They can't garnish his SSI IF they got a judgement.

If you don't completely believe me, go to creditboards dot com and go to the forums there. I learned everything I know there and did credit repair for a number of years

I wouldnt consider BK in this scenerio, because it is going to cost you money. Just turn the car in and stop paying the CC

This sounds like a better idea and plan.

[JollyGG]

Originally Posted by surrogate

I would turn the car back in, at his age, I can almost garuntee that they are not gonna sue for the deficiency balance and even if they did they cannot take his social security as a garnishment. It is against the FDCPA. Same with the CC, stop paying it. They can't garnish his SSI IF they got a judgement.

If you don't completely believe me, go to creditboards dot com and go to the forums there. I learned everything I know there and did credit repair for a number of years

I wouldnt consider BK in this scenerio, because it is going to cost you money. Just turn the car in and stop paying the CC

Another helpful board is BKForum.com they have some really knowledgeable people there who can help you figure out if BK really is the best option and give you some do's and don't to make sure everything goes smoothly if he does decide to file. There's a good chance they will essentially say the same thing as surrogate when laying out some pros and cons of filing or not. But I'd post there. I like creditboards but when dealing with bankruptcy issues I found the people on BKForum to be more knowledgeable and helpful. Though you will find many of the same people on both boards. Five years ago when I was on both boards I found the BK specific one a good bit friendlier of the two both are wonderful resources.