189
votes
Accepted
My friend cosigned for a defaulted loan. Should he declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy?
DON'T talk to the creditor. DON'T trash your other good credit. DON'T declare bankruptcy for a good while.
The IRA is protected. Protect it.
First and foremost, the IRA is untouchable in MD. ...
176
votes
I am an EU resident being contacted about stock I own in a defunct company by a supposedly US based lawyer, is this a scam?
A bit of detective work.
The website lists no names for the firm. Any business, doctor, lawyer, etc, is at least going to tell you who the main partners are.
The site itself looks like a generic ...
164
votes
Accepted
Can I become debt free or should I file for bankruptcy? How do I manage my debt and finances?
Can I be debt free or should I file bankruptcy
There's no reason to file bankruptcy with $64k in debt and a $80K net salary. You can get out of debt in 1-2 years if you're willing to sacrifice. The ...
- 142k
122
votes
Can I become debt free or should I file for bankruptcy? How do I manage my debt and finances?
You need to change the way you think. First, understand compounding. Not just intellectually, but viscerally. You need to develop an aversion to spending borrowed money.
A debt with 22% APR ...
- 6,788
86
votes
If a bank fails, will debt be wiped out?
No, your debt is an asset. In bankruptcy assets might be sold off (there are different flavors of bankruptcy and they don't all involve complete asset liquidation). Your debt would either remain with ...
- 71.2k
62
votes
Accepted
Opportunity to buy Illinois bonds that can never default?
"Can't declare bankruptcy" isn't the same as "can't default". Bankruptcy is a specific legal process for discharging or restructuring debts. If Illinois can't declare bankruptcy, that means it will ...
- 7,011
61
votes
Accepted
Options for paying for a nonreturnable leased vehicle
Unfortunately this is going to land in her mother's lap. Since she is a cosigner on the lease she is just as responsible as your girlfriend for paying the return value. Both of them would have to ...
- 142k
58
votes
Why don't most people file Chapter 7 every 8 years?
You could get away with stealing some money doing this. However, there are mechanisms in place to limit the damage you could do.
First, you need to have good credit in the first place before you will ...
- 116k
53
votes
Accepted
How to protect an employee's wages before the company declares bankruptcy?
When a company files for bankruptcy there is no guarantee that they will be able to satisfy any of their debts. Assuming chapter 7 bankruptcy, the employees with unpaid wages become creditors. Assets ...
- 71.2k
53
votes
Accepted
Why do some companies choose to file for bankruptcy if it has cash to pay off its immediate debts?
Broadly speaking, there are two types of corporate bankruptcy in the US-- Chapter 11 and Chapter 7. The vast majority of bankruptcies you hear about in the news are Chapter 11 bankruptcies which ...
- 28.3k
52
votes
Can I become debt free or should I file for bankruptcy? How do I manage my debt and finances?
My income is 78K to 80K after taxes and insurance.
I pay $1,500 for rent+utilities, $150 for phone bill, $450 for auto loan, $300 for auto insurance (for two people; I am helping a friend who can't ...
- 3,423
44
votes
I am an EU resident being contacted about stock I own in a defunct company by a supposedly US based lawyer, is this a scam?
Purely FWIW, "Does this sound legitimate?"
The company no longer trades on any stock market as it is in receivership. There is no administrative board to contact, and it doesn't even have a ...
- 13.9k
39
votes
Why don't most people file Chapter 7 every 8 years?
What you are describing is a fairly clear cut case of fraud. There is a big difference between (a) acquiring debt and subsequently being unable to pay it back, and (b) acquiring debt knowing in ...
- 2,523
38
votes
I am an EU resident being contacted about stock I own in a defunct company by a supposedly US based lawyer, is this a scam?
Definitely a scam. Some warning signs in the email:
Please find attached the documents pertaining to the investment that you made in XXX Investment currently known as XXIT (XXX XXX Investment Trust)...
- 681
36
votes
Opportunity to buy Illinois bonds that can never default?
If Illinois cannot go bankruptcy
This is missing a few, very important words, "...under current law."
The United States changed the law so as to allow Puerto Rico to go into a form of bankruptcy. ...
- 21k
36
votes
What happens to depositors at Silicon Valley Bank?
Update from the FDIC over the weekend: all the deposits will be made available to SVB depositors on Monday. The risk would be borne by the FDIC which will make a special assessment on its members if ...
- 185k
33
votes
Accepted
Why would you risk bankruptcy if you lend more money than you own?
A bank note given out by a goldsmith in that time was not just fiat money. It was actually a voucher which came with the guarantee that if it was given back to the goldsmith, that goldsmith would be ...
- 24.1k
27
votes
What happens to the shareholders when a public company declares bankruptcy?
Under U.S. Bankruptcy Code Chapter 11, the company attempts to reorganize its business and try to become profitable again. Management continues to run the day-to-day business operations but all ...
- 77k
24
votes
Can I become debt free or should I file for bankruptcy? How do I manage my debt and finances?
One thing that I don't see addressed in the other answers is this:
I am helping a friend who can't pay auto insurance
You MUST stop this. While I understand, and applaud, the desire to help a ...
- 2,602
23
votes
Options for paying for a nonreturnable leased vehicle
If there is a cosigner, then bankruptcy on the part of your girlfriend won't be helpful: the mother will simply be fully responsible.
The first option here should be to talk to the dealership/...
- 35.9k
22
votes
Declaring bankruptcy when I am the primary and my son is the co-signer on his car loan
If he wants to keep the loan he needs to take you off of it (probably through refinancing). Otherwise I'm guessing it will be called and since both of you are responsible your son will be left holding ...
- 185k
21
votes
What happens to depositors at Silicon Valley Bank?
I was affected by the largest bank failure.
Or to be more precise, I was not.
The branches didn't close (much). The web site kept working. I never lost access to my money. My auto-payments kept ...
18
votes
I am an EU resident being contacted about stock I own in a defunct company by a supposedly US based lawyer, is this a scam?
In case I provide my bank account number (IBAN number in the EU), how will they be able to abuse this?
There are multiple ways. In this case, it could be that once you give the details, they will ...
- 57.2k
18
votes
Accepted
Are there "banks" (or something morally equivalent) which merely stores their clients' money and doesn't invest/lend/etc it?
We call such institutions "safe deposit boxes." There is no version of a true equivalent to a safe deposit box that is widely available to the public and accessible via an electronic ...
- 719
17
votes
Accepted
Borrowing 100k, paying it to someone and then declaring bankruptcy
This is fraud and could lead to jail time.
The vast majority of people cannot obtain such loans without collateral and one would have to have a healthy income and good credit to obtain that kind of ...
- 79.6k
17
votes
If a bank fails, will debt be wiped out?
Absolutely not. Herstatt Bank went bankrupt in 1974. It took them about 20 years to collect all outstanding debt (bank going bankrupt when you have a 20 year loan means you still have 20 years to pay ...
- 23.9k
16
votes
Someone please help with my credit situation
Looking back
I have a car loan paid in full and even paid off early, and 2 personal loans paid in full from my credit union that don't seem to reflect in a positive way and all 3 were in good ...
- 21k
16
votes
Accepted
What happens to contractors when employer goes bankrupt?
1: no. You are among the rabble. Because you are a contractor, i.e. another business. This is part of the deal of being a contractor - you control your busienss and are responsible for your risk. And ...
- 11.6k
15
votes
Opportunity to buy Illinois bonds that can never default?
If you give money to a person or entity, and they don't have the ability to pay you back, it doesn't matter if they are legally required to pay you.
- 2,115
14
votes
Borrowing 100k, paying it to someone and then declaring bankruptcy
This is called a fraudulent conveyance because its purpose is to prevent a creditor from getting repaid. It is subject to claw back under US law, which is a fancy way of saying that your friend will ...
- 10.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible