Expert: John Hall - 1/27/2006

Question
I thank you for taking the time to review our situation. I have been with my partner for 11yrs now. A little over 5 years ago we decided to have a child and since at the time I was making a decent salary with the prospect of a move to management, we decided that she would stay home for the first few years of our sons life. Times were tight and although we each brought to the table our own debt history we managed: for a while. I purchased a home and things got even tighter. We made the bad decision to start not paying some of her bills since I had far less debt to income ratio and better credit. Our ignorant philosophy was “at least one of us will have good credit�. In all honesty, we intended on starting to pay again but things just kept getting worse for us financially to the point where none of her bills were being paid at all. Even some of mine were falling behind.

Well, fast forward to the present. Rough estimates put my significant other at about $15,000 in delinquent debt. One of which is a credit card now being collected by an assignee called Credit Collection Services which is an assignee of Consolidation USA which is an assignee of Discover Bank. In September of 2005 they filed a summons through our local court (Temecula, Ca) for the original amount ($5800), interest, attorney’s fees and anything else the judge may seem fit. According to the papers filed, the summons is for what is being called a “Case Management Conference� and is scheduled for 2/23/06. We are unfortunately in no better a situation financially than we were 5 years ago; in fact worse. Two more children later, even if she was working we’d scarcely be able to afford the daycare much less pay her debt along with our other responsibilities. So with all that said, here are my questions:

1. What legal defense does she have at this point?
2. Can she still file for BK and discharge the debt?
3. If not, given that she has no real assets to speak of, what can they go after or do to her?

I hope that you can lend some assistance with our situation. Thank you very much.

RV

Answer
Good morning RV.  Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but I have been having some computer problems.   So things are not going too well in the big town of Temecula?  I have been through there a couple of times when I was in California a few years ago.  
The situation you describe may not turn out to be so bad after all, but you don't give enough information for me to be able to answer your question -  

Depending on your situation, you may be able to handle this for as little as $100 -  that is what I would charge you, pllus the filing fee if bankruptcy was an option.   I just can't say for sure without knowing more specific faxts.

This would be a heck of a lot easier talking on the telephone, and I will not charge you just to talk on the phone.  You may be able to handle this with a minimum of expense and effort so that the whole issue of the imepending case management conference is resolved prior to the time that it is set.    Call me if you like.   My cell number is 661  492-2673