My close relatives are thinking about declaring bankruptcy, they’re at least 100-150 thousand dollars in debt. They can just make the minimum payments, and sometimes not even, and now one of them isn’t working so, doesn’t seem to be much hope for them. They also have a very large mortgage, and are forced to sell their house. The house is in both their names (they’re married). Some of their credit cards are joint accounts, like they both have cards with the same number. If they declared bankruptcy, could one of them just do that, rather than both of them? The majority of the money that they owe is on the husband’s credit cards, but some of the money like I said is joint. Any advice on that, from anyone that’s been through it? Any good bankruptcy lawyers agencies in the Los Angeles area? Thanks. 
)
If most of the debt is credit cards, they may be able to negotiate a smaller monthly payment to reduce the debt. It isn’t in anyone’s best interest for them to file bankruptcy. If they sell their home and file bankruptcy, the home could be brought back into the bankruptcy if it is sold within 6 months of filling. Some property can be brought back into the estate for a year. Bankruptcy laws changed about a year or so ago. You can no longer just discharge your debts. In most cases, you must meet certain income criteria to get a discharge. If you don’t qualify, you will need to file a repayment schedule which could run from 3-5 years. Given the new bankruptcy laws, I would suggest that they make a list of all their creditors and income and see if something could be worked out at a lower cost to help them get out of debt. I am very sorry for their current situation. You may also suggest for them to contact a consumer conseling agency. Most cities have something such as this. They can sometimes work out a payment schedule to help you get out of debt without filing bankruptcy. As a last resort, you could contact a bankruptcy attorney. I would contact the District Court, which handles bankruptcy, and ask them of some names of lawyers who do a lot of bankruptcies. They cannot recommend anyone, but could give you several names you could contact.
Creditors will come after both of them if they are both on the loan papers, even if only one used the cards. If one files bankruptcy the other one will be responsible for the debts if they are jointly owned. There are exemptions for your home which varies from state to state. It is usually called a homestead exemption. California used to have a high exemption for bankruptcy. A bankruptcy could help them to keep their home. Good luck.
