A simple Chapter 7, he will lose the house if behind, is $200 to file in court. You can find the forms at Office Depot or Staples for about $40. it is pretty simple and very straight forward. If he wants to keep the house, then he would have to file 13, and at that point I would get an attorney. Their fees would be placed in the 13 payments but that is a nightmare and I just don’t see your FIL completing it if he is as bad as you say.
All the forms are downloadable for free too.
But it would probably be worth it for him to get help filling out the forms.
After filing out the forms and paying the fee, he would meet with the ch 7 trustee. The trustee would take a statement, under oath, that he didn’t lie on the forms. The trustee would take care of the rest - meeting with the judge, settling the creditors, etc.
Ch 13 would allow him to keep the house, by rolling the overdue mortgage payments into the settlement, but given the story, that would be unwise
I don’t mean to be harsh but how about finding a way to pay the debt between the family? Family is family and the responsibility to pay debt shouldn’t be just blown off. Someone/company will be left holding the bag if the debt isn’t paid.
Family is family except this fuck didn’t contribute a dime to his, and currently owes over $100K to various family members, some of which was obtained by theft. Why the fuck would I be responsible for his debt? Between him and 3 of his sibling I estimate that over $1 million is owed - an amount that would financial cripple the rest of the family if they took it over. I can get that for humanitarian reasons we want to keep him from living in the street, but how can you seriously suggest that anyone else is responsible for his deceit? You wouldn’t suggest I go to jail if he murdered someone, so why would you suggest I suffer financially if he swindled someone?
Edit: This just reminded me of the story of the contracts that fur-trappers used to have with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Upon the death of the trapper the debt was passed to his oldest son. Debtors prisons and family contracts went the way of the Dodo years ago, for good reason.
I think you missed the point. Family is family and you take care of your own! After the fact sucks but there is a connection. The side that I am coming from is there is someone that is irresponsible with their financing and declares bankruptcy. What do you think happens to those people that are owed the money? They are not all large companies! It could be the local landscaper that is on a shoe string budget that isn’t getting paid. Bankruptcy only absolves the debtor and the creditors fight over what is left over. Think about how this effects people/companies down stream and what they have to do to compensate. Maybe file bankruptcy depending upon size.
I’m so tired of people not (not you) taking responsibility for themselves.
I would strongly recommend trying to find a way to make his creditors whole, it’s the honest thing to do but I understand that it isn’t your debt. Family is family and how you deal with it defines. Your not obligated but if you look bigger than yourself/family there is still something owed that effects others.
Actually, I think you did and also think you’re preaching from a bit of a moral high horse. This guy created his own financial problems. It’s not the son in law’s responsibility or that of any other family member.
I don’t mean to be harsh but how about finding a way to pay the debt between the family? Family is family and the responsibility to pay debt shouldn’t be just blown off. Someone/company will be left holding the bag if the debt isn’t paid.
