Spouse’s Bankruptcy

Hello,

I have been searching the internet, trying to find an answer to my problem. I do not have a student loan, niether did my husband who declared bankruptcy some 11 years ago. I hope that you will still have an answer for me.

As I have said, my husband declared bankruptcy 11 years ago, not me. We had recently bought a house and I was working. I became pregnant with my third child and ended up hospitalized for many months. This left us with one income, two-income expenses and the extra bonus of full time daycare payments for the two oldest kids (2 & 3 at the time)!

Anyway, my father-in-law insisted that my husband go into bankruptcy, and so he did. All the debts except the mortgage were in his name only. According to him, his trustee said that I didn't have to go bankrupt (why, I don't know) All I know is that I signed over the title of the house to the builders who sold it to us.

Advance to the present, and I get a phone call from the bank that held that mortgage, informing me of a judgement against me from 9 years ago for the full amount, and that it has grown by 9% a year since then.

I do not work, haven't since having the third child because she is disabled (due to the bad pregnancy) The current mortgage is in my husband's name. What do I do? I can't afford a lawyer. If you can believe it, the majority that I have called claim a conflict of interest, or that they are not taking new clients. I haven't exhausted the phonebook, but I am very discouraged. Totally stressed, and crying all the time. The bank says that they will seize this house and its contents to collect on the judgement and that they don't believe that I was told that I didn't have to declare bankruptcy.

I beleive that the builders that we signed the title of the house over to went bankrupt. Does this have anything to do with why they are coming after me?

I am sorry if this is very long and if this is not the appropriate forum. If I have made a mistake, could you direct me to someone that can help me with my questions?

Thank you

6273kat,

Hi, I did email you, but I think I put "debt" as the subject line, so I am sure that you ignored it! ( how stupid am I!!) If you could email me first I would like to hear what you have to say. Thank you!

sorrowful5@hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

 sorrow,

 what you have described is too vague for me to assess your predicament.

 I am reading that your husband went bankruptc on the advice of a family member. That was 11 years ago. You have a mortgage .... and it is in your husband's name.

 You didn't have to file, or so you were told. Bankruptcy groups tell the spouses this jargon all of the time. Anything to pique the interest to expedite the sale of insolvency without regard to the persons needs and future goals.... Sorry... I rant about this from time to time.

 You are confronted by a collection agent at the bank? An Agency? You say the bank called you that held "that" mortgage. That one, as in the one you are currently living in, or one from ago? I am confused.

 Ok... first of all, take a deep breath... and relax. Let's rationalize this out for a sec here...

 IF the bank has a judgment against the property, then they can execute accordingly, but it is by no means an easy thing to do. First of all, you should determine what the judgment is ..or if it is a scare tactic of some sort. I do not think this would have anything to with the defunct/bankrupt building Co.

 A judgement is good for a long time but it depends on which province you live in. In some provinces, the statutes are 10 years, and others are as high as 25 years. If there is a judgment, then the interest could not be accumulating at 9%. Standard judgment interest ordered by the court is 5% at the highest. Something is fishy here.

 I believe what you are saying about finding a lawyer to help you with  this. They are not booked, they just do not want to take on a case like this because it is complicated. Besides, they will just charge you a few thousand bucks to do something you can pretty much do on your own ..other than access certain information and practice law, of course.

 well, I can help you, but I will have to get involved with this one. It is going to takje intervention to cure this crisis. I have my suspicions, but they are inconclusive until I get in there and dig up this can of worms. Either way, I will protect you, no worries there. I know exactly how to handle this.

 Callo me if you would like. There is no way I can describe the solution. it has to be "performed" for you. This is how these things work.

 Johnny

 

 

 

We are here for you sorrowful...venting is good!!!!!!!

 

Thank you Johnny. You will be hearing from me.

And thank you kwelmm, I like a good rant once in a while.. just ask my kids!

I am acutely aware that my debt problem does not really belong here in this forum, and again I apologize, but I have come to realize many things from reading the posts....mostly about how I have to become the person I want my kids to believe I am... a self advocate, self assured, the self that I wanted to grow up to be, but lost on the way somehow...

Also, another change has to come....

After just reading the posts for the past week or so, I have discovered that I have made a gross miscalculation in the future of my children. My focus has always been the future of my youngest child. She has cerebral palsy and a heart condition and just recently started having epileptic seizures. She is also "intellectually deficient" (politically correct phrase). She will always be a dependant, either living with me or in a group home, so I have worried about her financial future more than the older two. I have always encouraged them to do as well as they can in school and set the goal for college/university. Have I put money aside for them?! NO! Scholarships and students loans were how I've told them their education will be financed. I even told them that we would help them pay the loans!! Not now, honey!

I am going to get this mess cleared up for good and do what ever I can to make it so they aren't "Son of Sorrowful"/"Daughter of Sorrowful" posting 10 years from now!

Sorrowful, Islander of course puts it all so elegantly I don't have much to add except encouragement. By thinking about your children's future now and by discussing and learning you are actually formulating a plan now which is good. I think if we all had parents who had been savvy about what we were getting into and had been able to steer us gently along certain paths, we would have all been much better off.

I tend to believe that if one has a solid career goal and knows exactly what they are getting into, a student loan can be useful. However it must be used sparingly and supplemented by something else to prevent it from becoming a burden later on.

If your children are young enough you might consider opening up a Registered Education Savings Plan for them and putting something in each month. Might be something to look into?

How about yourself? Do you have any career or educational goals of your own? I know it must be really tough with three kids but don't forget to think about yourself as well.

Fuchsia818

Welcome aboard!!

 

hi everyone..i'm still reading through the posts on this forum...very imformative.....i guess it will take me a while to pay off my debt if i can...since RMT's need an average of 2-5yrs to build up clientelle....so i'll be in trouble ....working on it.....after that i'll have to deal w/ my parents loans....since some of it is mine :P

i dont remember who posted the post regarding taking the non-traditional route n i'm w/ u all the way....as u see my route was not very traditional....actually i think most of the ppl i've spoken to r extremely against it....but come on...let's face it....i suck @ writing n expressing myself w/ words/math/not a mean sleazy business person/n science to a certain degree....for all i know i work best w/ my hands n a little bit of what some u call lateral n vertical thinking.....so i guess massage therapy was it....

just wanna help ppl while making a living....@ least i can sleep @ the end of the day knowing that i have moral/ethics/ n a conscience...

to whoever posted the thought of not following suit w/ the other i agree w/ u totally as well.....by the way i'm 22YOA so i'm right in the smack middle of that BS...as i keep telling my younger brother....forget about everyone who's telling u  that u have to be n do that when ur this age......deal w/ what u can handle n go w/ what u like n ur strengths and acknowledge ur weakness then find a career that will amplify ur strengths n help u build on ur weaknesses n hopefully its sthg that u will like to do.....as for money.....work a yr or 2 n save or if u can ...dont ever touch these loans unless its ur last resort........

for all i know i can only stick w/ my family n try to help each other out...cant fight alone....gotta support each other n find allies if u wanna survive...of course u have to have the will n spirit to fight for it urself too....

hope all of this fits w/in the confines of this forum...if anything has been misposted i apologize...

:D

I just wanted to give an update on my situation. I want to thank everyone who replied to my posts here. I think that these websites and forums are a valuable tool against the ignorance and fear we all  felt after that first phonecall or letter. I posted under the nickname "Sorrowful" because that is how I felt. I am "Sorrowful No More" thanks to John and all his hard work and dedication.

I posted this in the testimonials section of the CFW Group's forum:

 

One phone call from a bank last October, and I felt that the rug had been swept from under my feet. I was informed that I owed a huge amount of money from a judgement made against me over eleven years ago:

    I had ended up in hospital for months during a high-risk pregnancy, leaving my husband to cope with daycare for two little children as well as all the bills and mortgage payments. After a few months with no income contribution from me, it became clear that my husband would not be able to handle all our financial obligations. He chose to declare bancruptcy. VERY wrong move. Bad advice from the trustee led us to believe that I wouldn't have to declare bancruptcy also. VERY bad advice. I was still liable for the amount of the mortgage that was left over after the bank sold the house. My ignorance led to the judgement, and somehow I remained ignorant of these facts until that phone call.

    I was devastated. We had spent the last eleven years crawling out from under the weight of my husband's bankruptcy, and now the bank was threatening to take away all that we had built up. They wanted the money, and they wanted it all immediately. I tried to call lawyers, with no resluts. Most told me to declare bankruptcy. But, my ignorance did not excuse a debt owed, and to me bankruptcy was not an option. I believe that you cannot declare bankrupcy on a judgement anyway. What was I to do?...

    As our modern society is wont to do, I turned to the internet to find some answers, and to figure out how I was to respond to the ever increasing pressure from the bank. I found the Student Debt website and even though I had no student loans owing, I felt that the people posting in the forums would have empathy, understanding, and advice. I was right. They led me to John LeBlanc and the CFW group. I called him and he listened to my blubberings and ranting, made sense of the issues I did not understand, and told me that there was a solution.

   Last week my judgement was settled. It took months and a lot of hard work on John's part. At all times he was professional and understanding. He answered my questions and kept me informed of everything that was going on. His great sense of humour and advice helped me to remain relatively sane during the process. His dedication, evident even in the  final hours (literally), was so greatly appreciated.

   I want you to know that even though it may feel that the whole world is against you right now, there is a solution. The right advice and trust are the keys. You'll find these with John.

   Thank you John.

   Sorrowful No More