alone and confused Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 I am in Alabama and have been reading the messages on this site for over a year. We cashed out my husband's stocks in January and paid off as many creditors as we could with the $37,000, thinking that my husband and I could pay our other cc in 5 or 6 years by making deals with our creditors. . I still owe about $75,000 in cc debt, solely in my name and last week my husband filed for divorce. I am giving up the fight and declaring bankruptcy.I am afraid the trustee will consider the accounts that we paid off as preferential payments and take the money back. Some of the accounts were in my name and some in my husbands name. These accounts listed my son as an authorized user. Can the trustee do that and can they go after my son for the balance? At the time of pay-off they and all my other (23) cc payments were current.I am scared to death that my creditors will involve my son in this mess.Thanks for any advice you can give me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof5 Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 First off, your son is an AU so - no, they won't involve him.Pardon the bluntness....over $100K in CC debt?! What were you thinking?!?Your best bet for an answer on the paid creditors would be to talk to a BK atty. Honestly, why do you care if they pull money back from those creditors? Your CC accts will all be closed with the BK. You will eventually recover.Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 As just an authorized user, you son should not be held responsible for these debts.Talk to you lawyer...if he doesn't handle BKs, ask for a referral. You'll probably get through this okay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Methuss Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 As others have pointed out your son is not part of the picture here. An AU has no liability for the debt itself.As for if the Trustee was to pull preferential payments...sure he can do it...and if it is a substantial amount he just might. But does that affect you? Nope.You see all the trustee will do is pull the preferential payments and then distribute them to all the creditors evenly. Since this is credit card debt, it is still unsecured and any part not paid will get wiped out anyways. So all the trustee is doing is making sure all the creditors get a slice of the pie instead of one or two eating it all.One thing to be aware of is that if you file personal bankruptcy it will have no effect on any divorce decree entered after your discharge. Let me explain in a timeline. You bankrupt now and your personal liability is discharged on the debts. You get divorced and the divorce judge enters an order that you pay half the debt. Since this happened after the bankruptcy, you could be on the hook to your ex-husband for half the debt. So definately discuss this issue with your bankruptcy attorney...better yet interview two or three to make sure you are getting the same answer on this subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleverCynic Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Don't forget to remove your son from AU's though too. Even though he's not on the hook for the debt, any lates or C/O's are going to show on his report matter of factly and artificially depress his fico the same way good history artificially inflated it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Don't forget to remove your son from AU's though too. Even though he's not on the hook for the debt, any lates or C/O's are going to show on his report matter of factly and artificially depress his fico the same way good history artificially inflated it.Agreed. And, even though legally as just an AU, he's not responsible, it might not stop some low life collector from hassling him about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alone and confused Posted October 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Thanks for the quick replies. I have removed my son as authorized user. I guess I just have to hope they don't harass him. I feel better knowing that legally they can't hold him responsible.To answer your question about the cause of the debt, the debt was enormous because my husband and I were separated for many years and the debt grew while we both tried to maintain the standard of living we had we when lived together. Stupidity, bad money management, loss of income, and my compulsive spending due to being bi-polar would be the main causes (excuses). I kick myself everyday for letting this happen. Will the trustee question the amount of the debt or the reasons?I don't want the trustee to drag my bankruptcy case on while he redistributes the money because I am fighting severe depression and anxiety, have been dealing with suicidal thoughts in the past few months, and I need to get this past me so I can start to work on my mental health issues.The cc payments were made over 6 months ago, does this have any bearing on whether or not the trustee will try to recover them? My divorce will be finalized a few weeks before the 341 hearing and the agreement says that we will be responsible for the debts in our own names.Thanks for all of you help. It is nice to know there are people on this forum that can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 There's very little chance the trustee will be interested in why or how you got to where you're at. If the CC payments were made 6 months ago, he might take note of that, but, it unlikely he'll try to recover the money.Deep breaths. It sounds like you're finally going to get some resolution, at least, to things that have been piling up on your for years. You'll get through this.If you need moral support, we're all here to help if we can. Many of us have already been through it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1time2many Posted October 11, 2008 Report Share Posted October 11, 2008 Hang in there, the sun will rise daily.Make sure that the Judge knows you are in BK before the divorce is final........Never Ever trust that the Court will do the right thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts