[Robynjean]

I have started procedures for filing for bankruptcy and am worried - we own one acre in the mountains and plan to retire there within a couple of years-will we lose the property in a bankruptcy? If we file will we be trapped here for 10 yrs until the debt is paid?:confused:

[pacific nw]

It depends on the type of bankruptcy you file. A Chapter 13 allows you to keep any property you can afford the payments on, plus a little each month towards the arrears. It can take 3 years to 5 years to complete a Chapter 13, but you can pay it off sooner if you can increase your income or receive an amount of money that allows you to do so. A Chapter 7 may require that you sell your assets to pay your debts. If you have actually filed the bankruptcy (either 7 or 13), it will stop the foreclosure sale temporarily. ( A month or more.) If you can bring the payments current during that time, you can dismiss the bankruptcy and keep your property. There are many variations to all of this. It is without a doubt worth talking to a Bankruptcy Attorney before filing a Bankruptcy and finding out if it meets your needs. (I am not an attorney.) There is a great deal of difference between attorneys, so interview a few and pick one that can answer your questions and has suggestions other than "just file the darn thing".