I have a friend that is currently separated from her husband and they have filed for divorce. Because when they got married her credit was perfect and his credit was poor she purchased the 2 cars, have a house, and several credit cards. Now that they are separated, he is willing to only pay $100 towards the bills. Their mortgage is $1,400 plus there is insurance, utilities, etc. They are all in her name and she even got a roommate to help her pay for her expenses, but still, is very hard for her to pay her bills. Her husband will be going to jail in the near future because the feds are investigating him, so he doesn't care about his credit.
She has tried to make payment arrangements with her mortgage company explaining the situation, but they are not very helpful. They do not have an attorney working their divorce, and they are doing it all on their own to save money.
She thinks that she will lose the house when she can't make any more payments and that is going to affect her credit. Also, when he goes to jail, he will have to turn in his car, which is still in her name... This is a nightmare for this poor girl.
Does anyone know how she can get out of this mess. I have tried to tell her to get an attorney, but even to file for divorce, they charge you a lot. The good thing is that they do not have children. Whew..
Any suggestions?
Thanks.:confused:

One word: bankruptcy

But don't they both have to agree to file for bankruptcy? He is being really hostile and won't do anything to help, so I do not know if she should approach him with the bankruptcy idea. Do you know if there are special groups out there that can help her by giving her ideas on her financial prolems free of charge? I mean, there are volunteers that help people in emotional crisises, etc. buut I haven't heard if there is any financial "support groups".

No, she is separated, therefore she can file for bankruptcy on her own. Especially since everything is in her name. She REALLY needs an attorney to handle the divorce and who can advise her.

Unfortunately your friend is in quite a bind. I'm curious as to how she was able to obtain enough credit in her own name to purchase a house and 2 cars, and acquire credit cards without documenting the ability to be able to pay for them on her own. Presumably he was the primary breadwinner and it was his income that paid most of the bills. Now that he's gone and on his way to jail, that income is all gone and your friend is not able to handle things on her own. That being the case, she probably will lose the home and one of the cars and have to settle for living in a small apartment.