I have an elderly neighbor who is widowed and is 80 years old. He seems to feel his only recourse on a credit card debt (approximately $20,000 from what he tells me) is bankruptcy, and went to see an attorney yesterday who tells him that the collection agency CAN seize any monies in his bank account and that he should pull all of his money except about $100.00 out of the account. The attorney told him they CANNOT take his home OR car. The attorney is charging him $1,500.00, plus tells him he needs to take 2 classes at $150.00 each. He also told my neighbor that he, the attorney, HAS to be paid in cash for his services. I find this somewhat disturbing; however, at his age he tends to listen to those in "authority" and I'm afraid he is going to be taken advantage of, as he is scared of collection agencies coming after him and taking what little money he has. He lives on about $1,200/month social security and that's it! He has no retirement, no 401K, etc. Any advice you can give would be most appreciated.

Regards,
A concerned neighbor

There are many organizations that will file a bankruptcy for a small fee, and may require more work by the person filling, as opposed to a lawyer doing all the work. For a credit card debt there is nothing that they can take (home, car, and so on) for the card holder. The best thing aside from filling banko would be to work out a "hardship" arrangement with the creditors, or even a consolidation loan so that he is only being charged one interest rate. If he has anyone that can give him a personal loan he can also seek settlements from the creditors to be done with it, and save a little money in the long run.