Post # 1
Member
1330 posts
Bumble bee
the other thread on prenups got me thinking…..
currently i own a house that is in foreclosure….the house was bought 3 yrs ago with my ex…..i’m filing chapter 7 bankruptcy this month and do not plan on reaffirming the mortgage (basically saying i dont want the house so i dont promise to pay the mortgage)……my bankruptcy lawyer says i’m a no-asset case, so the hope is to be discharged from bankruptcy around may/june….the house will still be in foreclosure, and i have heard it takes the banks forever to finish a foreclosure process….
so one of the posts on the other prenup thread said in NJ, everything is divided up 50/50 regardless of the circumstances….(not the exact words)
it got me thinking, if FH and I get married before the foreclosure process comes to an end, does that mean the he’s entitled to a portion of my property? and if so, will the foreclosure process hurt his public records???
should we push the wedding back indefinitely until the foreclosure process is over just to be safe?? or should i look into doing a deed in lieu of foreclosure??
any opinions/suggestions are appreciated…thanks.
p.s. refinancing with FH or FH buying the property is not an option.
Post # 3
Member
3373 posts
Sugar bee
eek I would talk to your bankrupcy lawyer. He’d probably be your best resource
Post # 4
Member
14181 posts
Honey Beekeeper
man that sucks. But a pre nup may not be a bad idea to help protect him. I’d definitely get with a lawyer to be 100% sure
Post # 5
Member
2867 posts
Sugar bee
I had an aunt for a variety of reasons postpone getting married by like 10 years (for one she had a retirement account she couldn’t draw from if she got married) but the big reason was b/c my uncle had accrued a lot of debt from trying to start a small business and filed bankruptcy. I think it would be good to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer.
Post # 6
Member
4410 posts
Honey bee
- Wedding: December 2010 - Savannah, GA
Sorry to hear about your bankruptcy and foreclosure. I went through the same thing five years ago when I divorced my ex-husband. It’s not fun. The nice thing was, I did get to live in my house for more than a year for free, and it was at a time when I was really hurting financially. But the bad part was, I was living in a house I had shared with my ex-husband which made it hard to move forward emotionally.
Check with your bankruptcy lawyer… One thing that I found helped me with my credit report, and I don’t know if it is the same everywhere, but because the house was included in my bankruptcy, the bank couldn’t put the foreclosure on my credit report. I’ve pulled my credit report several times, and no foreclosure has ever shown up…the bankruptcy does, but not the foreclosure. If that’s the case everywhere, I wouldn’t think the foreclosure would hurt your fiance’s report. But definitely check with your lawyer.
The other thing you might be able to do is check with the bank mortgage company or legal department and see if they can give you an estimated time of when the foreclosure will be complete.
My other thought is even though once you’re married property is owned 50/50, unless the bank has his SS# and information associated to this property, they don’t have away to attach anything to his credit report. I don’t think they can add owners to the foreclosure who weren’t parties to the original contract anyway, but I could be wrong.
Sooo…those where just might thoughts, and not legal advice by any means, so definitely check with your lawyer.
Good luck! and I hope you don’t have to postpone your wedding!!!!
Post # 7
Member
1330 posts
Bumble bee
ok….def will talk to my bk lawyer then.
if it turns out we should get one, how do i approach FH with it?? he’s a sensitive guy and i feel like he wouldn’t see it as protection or whatnot….i dont want to hurt his feelings by suggesting it…..but i want to make sure he’s protected…..my credit and all that jazz will be shot for at least the next 4-5 yrs and the bankruptcy wont go away til 7-10, so we’ll be relying on him more than me…..how do you make a sensitive guy see that?
i feel like the prenup comes with the notion that you think somewhere down the line things will go wrong…. :-/ and i definitely dont want him to feel this way…
Post # 8
Member
2867 posts
Sugar bee
@MamaHusky3: Have him accompany you to your bancruptcy lawyer appt. So he knows that you’re not trying to be mean, you’re genuinely concerned.
Post # 9
Member
1330 posts
Bumble bee
@Loribeth: thanks…that makes sense to me…i hope it turns out to be the case!! and i definitely hope we don’t have to postpone either… thanks again!
Post # 10
Member
1330 posts
Bumble bee
@beekiss2: definitely a good idea!!! thanks!
Post # 11
Member
4410 posts
Honey bee
- Wedding: December 2010 - Savannah, GA
Oh! one more thing. If you goal is to protect your fiance’s credit report, don’t add each other’s names to either of your credit accounts, this means credit cards, loans, mortgages, etc, and don’t apply for any loans together until the bankruptcy is off your credit report and you’ve rebuilt your credit. But you can share savings, checking and investment accounts–at least that’s what I found when I was researching it. I’d double check if I were you just to make extra sure.
We’re in that same boat. My bankruptcy won’t be off my credit report for another five years, so until then, credit things will remain separate.
Also… I don’t know that a prenup will protect your FH in the future as far as getting bad credit because of your bankruptcy if you don’t keep your credit separate. The credit reporting companies don’t give a fig about personal agreements in a prenup.
Post # 12
Member
4410 posts
Honey bee
- Wedding: December 2010 - Savannah, GA
Have you talked to your fiance about your credit situation? I know when I talked to my DH about it before we were married, he completely understood, especially when I explained that I don’t want to do anything to hurt his credit report in any way, shape, or form. He appreciated that I was willing to do what needed to be done to protect his credit, and he was also happy to see I was very serious about repairing my credit. If anything, it increased the level of trust between us, because I was so open about my financial woes.
Be open with him about, and tell him the where, what and why for considering a prenup. And make sure he understands that you don’t want your past financial misfortunes to hurt him.
Post # 13
Member
1330 posts
Bumble bee
@Loribeth: thanks! also very good to know…. we were thinking of opening a checkin account together for bills…i’m sooo grateful for the bee!! thanks again for the advice…
Post # 14
Member
18628 posts
Honey Beekeeper
Honestly, I don’t think that you have to worry about applying for credit together after the bankruptcy is finalized but you want to avoid combining anything before it is complete because they may go after his assets to cover your debts.
After the bankruptcy, your bad credit will only hurt him if you try to apply for a loan together (it won’t hurt his credit but it will cause you to get worse terms on the loan or be denied all together).
Post # 15
Member
1330 posts
Bumble bee
@Loribeth: i have been open through the entire process…..i must admit tho that i feel like the stronger of us too when it comes to being smart about finances….how i came to being in this situation is a completely different story altogether…..but anyways, FH is a little lax when it comes to finances and i feel like i’ll be the one making sure we stay on track….there’s nothing wrong with that and he and i are on the same page about everything which is good…..he’s just a bit more of a romantic than anything else, which is why i feel the suggestion of a prenup would kinda hurt his feelings….he’ll be understanding, that i’m sure, but i know deep down he’ll be kinda hurt even if he won’t admit it or show it….
we’ve talked about the bankruptcy and waiting until that process is over before getting married and he completely understands and agrees with that decision…..but FH has never really paid much attention to his credit report….its gonna be tough trying to get him to be smart about buiding his credit since we’ll have to rely on him for awhile til mine is better again….
im just wondering now if the foreclosure will hurt his records or not….but i def will take everyone’s suggestions and speak to my lawyer and bring FH along too as well…
thanks again.
Post # 16
Member
4410 posts
Honey bee
- Wedding: December 2010 - Savannah, GA
@MrsSaltWaterTaffy: That’s not true… If you apply for credit cards together, the credit card copies check both your credit scores and combine them, and then credit reporting companies will adjust both credit scores. When my mom added me to her credit card after my bankruptcy was final so I could have a credit card when I went to England, her credit score went down and mine went up. And all she did was add my name as a signer, not as a responsible party.
Her credit score still hasn’t recovered to where it was, and she took my name off it right after I returned from my trip. And she pays all of her credit cards off every month and before the due date.