Worth declaring bankruptcy?
I have paid off as much of my business debts as I was able to – putting myself at risk to do so. I simply can no longer pay off the remaining debts. I have paid off all money owed to the govt, the remaining debts are to the bank & post office. All other debts, including credit cards have been paid off.
My business debts were incurred before I met my new husband and he has not co-signed on anything.
If the house we own has no equity, due to refinancing my mortgage last year to pay off some of my debts, my business has been forced to closed due to my creditors making it impossible for me to continue, so I no longer have an income, I have no vehicle or any other assets of value – is it still worth it to declare bankruptcy to get the creditors off my back?
At 50y old, and with several health problems I have decided give up and just retire, and my new husband has agreed that I should just become a stay-at-home wife, since he can afford to support me and renew our mortage on his own credit, without me.
I have been told that my credit is already R9, so is there really any point for me to bear the additional expense of declaring bankruptcy?
In my experience, most people in similar situations choose to file a bankruptcy as a way to eliminate the continual harassment by creditors. Regardless of whether there are assets in your name or not, the creditors typically don’t stop. Whether they begin to contact your spouse at work, obtain judgments and attempt seizure of any joint accounts, or simply continue with the harassing phone calls I find most often people find the cost of the bankruptcy to be necessary for their own peace of mind. As well, if you ever want to have a credit rating rebuilt, the R-9 you referred to is often the result of a judgment obtained by a creditor, and will stay on your credit history for 6 years from the date the judgment is satisfied in full. I say this not to convince you that a bankruptcy is necessary, but just to explore the reasons I have heard in the past. Given this, if your creditors have given up the fight and your credit rating is something that you are confident you will not be concerned with in the future then you may be in a situation where doing nothing may be a plausible solution. I recommend you weigh out the options, discuss it with your spouse and if necessary contact a trustee in your local area.