My sister and I hired an attorney to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy on behalf of my parents. Since my parents have absolutely no assets to speak of, the bankruptcy filing is relatively straightforward and simple. I could've done the work since I'm admitted to practice in federal court, but quite frankly, I'm pissed with my parents for being so careless and apathetic about their finances. (In April, they had $60k in credit card debt and had no clue about it!) My sister made valiant efforts to get my parents (or at least my mother) to sit down to discuss a budget, but they couldn't care less. After four months, my sister managed to get my parents' debt down to $55k! But it's only a matter of time before my father will pass away, leaving a crushing debt that is unaffordable under my mother's Social Security survivor's benefits alone. C'est la vie - - my parents will pay a flat fee of $1,895 + $300 filing fee to bankrupt away their debts. I'm not going to pay this cost for them.
Of course, my sister and I will be doing all of the leg-work of compiling information about my parents' debt, their income, their cost-of-living, etc. And the next struggle will be to get my mother to actually undergo credit counseling. (My dad will likely be exempt due to his dementia.) Since my mother never bothered to learn English, I will probably have to attend with her and translate. Joy.
I'm sorry to be complaining here. But I just can't forgive or fathom my parents' attitude that their financial mess is their daughters' responsibility to clean up.
6 comments:
Wow. It sucks that you and your sister has to deal with all this stress, especially since it seems like your parents aren't very appreciative of all the work you guys are doing. I think my brother and I will find ourselves in a similar situation a few years down the line. We've been giving them some advice but they refused to make any changes. Sigh~
Wow, this is so sad.
I have a feeling there is a lot more to come on this. I'm so sorry you have to go through all this stress.
oh dear, you have my sympathy, it's a really stressful thing to go through!
I had to file bankruptcy for my dad when he got sick. Because of his dementia he owed money all over the place and people had taken advantage of him to the tune of thousands of dollars. He lost all his savings. It's really awful to have to do this for a parent.
Haven't heard from you in a while. Hope all is well.
I'm sure there are more options out there than filing for bankruptcy. There are trustees you can consult with regarding with your financial problem. They will help you build an action plan to help you pay your debt. I wish you good luck in finding the right options.
Jaden Allred
You made a sound advice Jaden, but I think what Kat needs more are insights on how to avoid taking the same steps which led her to filing for bankruptcy. Financial recovery and credit repair would only be successful after self-evaluation. Only then can you map a clear plan for your future credit. How are you doing now, Shtinkykat? -->Jesusita
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