O.K. -You survived Covid, then the bill arrives

[packman]

[LiberatedUSA]

1. Bankruptcy gets declared and they are now added to the homeless population. N/t

[Demsrule86]

3. You don't lose your house when you declare bankruptcy...the talk about how bankruptcy

has changed yada yada...it really hasn't. You have to fill out some paperwork...take a BS course or two and the is it. You get a clean slate and believe it or not you are more creditworthy. I had a medical bankruptcy years ago...when hubs had his appendix burst and they left it in him for days...he nearly died and we went over the one million allowed on his health plan at the time...we kept our house and bought a new one when we were transferred. Nex,t my sis had a bankruptcy under the new rules...same old same old. I helped her. The only difference was you had to take a course or two. She kept her house and the slate was wiped clean. Her credit improved within months of filing bankruptcy.

[Lars39]

5. That is not how it works for everyone.

We had to pay $700/month for years. We did lose our house.

[Demsrule86]

11. Then you filed chapter 11 ...or were quite wealthy. I have helped neighbors and family with

bankruptcies and there are loopholes for the wealthy and mortgages are affirmed and you can keep a certain percentage of your assets...you shouldn't lose the house. Anyone making less than 150,000 with a decent lawyer should be able to file chapter 7, particularly with medical bankruptcy. Just out of curiosity approximately when did this bankruptcy happen and in what state?

[Lars39]

16. Lost house because we couldn't pay both mortgage and $

[Demsrule86]

18. Were you in chapter 13? There is no repayment in chapter 7. You should likely have been in 7.

[Lars39]

22. Income is means tested

[Hekate]

19. Or they didn't get appropriate legal advice and got strong-armed into a payment plan, with interest

Maybe they didn’t know they should hire a lawyer.

Near-death, and then this?

[LiberatedUSA]

6. But if you can't pay your bills...

…you can’t pay your property tax. They still let you keep your home?

[Demsrule86]

13. Most of the time in a bankruptcy...once the debts are forgiven (Chapter 7), people

can afford a house payment. And taxes are rolled into mortgages. You start with a clean slate. My sister who had a bankruptcy under the new rules...kept the house and paid-for cars. She didn't have any payments owed for the cars...but if you wanted to keep a car you owed money on, you can affirm it (agree to continue to make payments) and keep it...I think people who relate the horrors of bankruptcy have not had one mostly. You need a decent attorney.

[leftstreet]

9. There is no such thing as a "medical bankruptcy"

Bankruptcy is bankruptcy. And no one gets a slate "wiped clean." That's an old talking point.

Repayment plans are based on income and assets, that's why the bankruptcy court allows creditors to be part of the procedure.

[Demsrule86]

15. In chapter 7 there are no repayment plans...medical bankruptcy only means most of

the debts are from hospital bills and not say credit cards. Bankruptcy is bankruptcy, as you said. I can attest that those I helped and counseled did not have any repayment plans...you are just plain wrong about that. Not everyone will be able to get a chapter 7 judgment ( you must qualify), but those that do, do not have to pay back debt. And you would be surprised how many actually do qualify.

Chapter 13 is where you pay back something and often that is pennies on the dollar. If you are in financial difficulty people, see a bankruptcy lawyer ...a good lawyer. The first visit is generally free. And a poster below did it himself...without a lawyer... It can be done. Ours was too complicated, but a simple chapter 7 can be filed by an individual.

[leftstreet]

20. So is there "credit card bankuptcy?"

Where most of the debts are from credit cards, not medical bills?

LOL

Every state is different, and each Chapter filing has different requirements. All of these things are based on income and assets as you know

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

10. I filed Chapter 7 2 years ago

due to massive bills after another cancer diagnosis (this despite having a solid income but I'm not a millionaire, and my treatment was $5000 a pop after insurance coverage). I filed by myself (as I am a legal beagle) using a website called upsolve.org. My entire slate was wiped clean and my bankruptcy was successfully discharged two months after filing. I had to take two courses online.

Now, here I am - still paying bills for continuous treatment - and I just bought a new construction home (note: FHA mortgages require you to be 2 years out from the date of discharge of bankruptcy). There are things you are allowed to keep when you file a Chapter 7, as long as they are of a certain value.

Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 are two different types of bankruptcy.

[Demsrule86]

17. Yeah I said chapter 11 which is for business...I meant 13...Good for you doing it yourself.

[we can do it]

21. People do lose their homes due to medical bankruptcy.

My friends got a good deal on a repo house due to medical bills of previous owners.

[forgotmylogin]

2. My god.

I actually wonder how many people actually survive intubation for 60 days.

Even if a person does, it seems their health would be changed for life on top of a multi-million dollar bill.

[Hortensis]

8. Yes. And how long many of those survive after being released

from the ICU to where? I read in one article a while ago that roughly half who worked before were able to return to work after a year, though not necessarily performing the same jobs.

And I've read that for those who make it home, the kind of intensive rehabilitative care for overwhelming physical (and mental) disabilities that many need, government-subsidized because who can afford it?, is not available.

WaPo a while ago had an article about this, describing the course of one of many, in hers, an active middle-aged woman blessed with with wonderful family determined to keep her alive and then restore her to health again, who eventually died at home despite everything they could do.

[SoCalDavidS]

4. If You Are MAGA

Declare that the vaccines are useless, and start a Go Fund Me page, where all the MAGA Morons can donate to help pay your bill.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Ok you owe 3 million. But, YOU OWNED THE LIBS!

Ain't nobody gonna make me get no gol-danged chip-infested magnetic untested vaccine!

(jk: this Bozo has three Moderna (Moderno? Modernx?) chips in the left arm.)

[Initech]

14. Yeah if this doesn't scare people into getting the vaccine, what will?