Bloody hell. *I* need a bankruptcy attorney. tara: Well, it seems my ex has decided he has no choice but to declare bankruptcy.
Because his car was purchased (with loan) during the marriage, and WI is a community property state, guess who could end up on the hook for the debt?
Oh, but he said, and I quote: "We can reaffirm the loan on that if that's what we have to do to keep you out of it. (beat) Well, I need to go home and figure out how to stretch three days worth of food until I get paid on Friday. See ya."
Great. So if I want him to take responsibility for the car, I take food out of his stepchildren's mouths.
He can't afford to sell the car (he's upside down). They can't get rid of the other car (it's leased, and they can't afford the termination penalties). They can't cut out the smoking, drinking and cable, apparently.
So, it's to a bankruptcy attorney for me, so I can be advised of my options, rights and responsibilities during this process (aka "how not to get screwed too badly"). Yay.
Re: Bloody hell. *I* need a bankruptcy attorney. brokenbaby: The laws changed recently regarding bankruptcy. I 'believe' that you have to try to work out some sort of repayment plan before you can just up and declare "oops sorry I can't pay you, doh." Like he is trying to do.
Re: Bloody hell. *I* need a bankruptcy attorney. jillieb44: You're divorced, he's remarried, how is his filing bankruptcy affecting you? I'm assuming he got the car in the divorce settlement, which makes HIM responsible?
Jillie
Re: Bloody hell. *I* need a bankruptcy attorney. tara: It's a quirk in community property law.
He took out the loan when we were married. In Wisconsin, that means we're both responsible for it, regardless of whose name was on it when. (From the beginning, it was in his name only, and I got a letter a few weeks later advising me of the loan and my responsibility for it. Yep, only one spouse needs to consent to debt, and it becomes community property anyway.)
The divorce decree does indeed say he's responsible for the car and its payments.
However, the divorce decree does not retroactively change the terms of the loan, since GMAC is not a party to the divorce. He never refinanced the loan (see "upside down"), so the original terms still exist.
A bankruptcy doesn't wipe out debt -- it just reduces or eliminates the obligation for the debtor to pay it back. GMAC could look at the terms of the loan and say, "ooh, look, Tara's a party to this loan too..." and come after me. It's not a guarantee they will, but they could.
If he reaffirms the loan, then I belive I'm in the clear, because the new terms will involve the new wife. But if he doesn't...
That's why I'm talking to a lawyer -- I'm covering my butt. This is all my understanding of the way the law works (after some googling -- I found some info on sites that seemed reliable, but you never now). I'd rather be out an hour of fees than thousands of dollars of payments (or the resultant hit to my credit and my C&F portion of the bar admittance process three years from now) on a car I don't even own.
[quote author=JB45 link=topic=30072.msg296679#msg296679 date=1150143409">
You're divorced, he's remarried, how is his filing bankruptcy affecting you? I'm assuming he got the car in the divorce settlement, which makes HIM responsible?
Jillie
[/quote">
