Parents Being Sued - Need Help!

[cedricdubb]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Hello,

I hope I am posting in the right forum - here it goes
My parents are former business owners with the business under their names.
When their sales took a turn for the worse they couldn't pay their agreed upon lease and now owe over $50,000 in back payment.

The property company sent notices regarding the back payments threatening to sue this was in the beginning of the year.
My parents and the property company could not reach an agreement on repayment - so the suit pushed through into courts.

My parents own no property have no assets besides 2 old cars and now my mother just has to work a wage to make ends meet
and support my father who is now sick. I barely make enough to pay back student loans and survive - and i definitely don't have
$50,000 laying around to pay their debt off.
They cannot afford a lawyer, I just wanted to put this out there and find out
what is the best plan of action for them?
What is the best case scenario and the worst case?
I am so frustrated because I cannot help my parents - I feel lost.

many thanks in advance!

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Hello,

I hope I am posting in the right forum - here it goes
My parents are former business owners with the business under their names.
When their sales took a turn for the worse they couldn't pay their agreed upon lease and now owe over $50,000 in back payment.

The property company sent notices regarding the back payments threatening to sue this was in the beginning of the year.
My parents and the property company could not reach an agreement on repayment - so the suit pushed through into courts.

My parents own no property have no assets besides 2 old cars and now my mother just has to work a wage to make ends meet
and support my father who is now sick. I barely make enough to pay back student loans and survive - and i definitely don't have
$50,000 laying around to pay their debt off.
They cannot afford a lawyer, I just wanted to put this out there and find out
what is the best plan of action for them?
What is the best case scenario and the worst case?
I am so frustrated because I cannot help my parents - I feel lost.

many thanks in advance!

Their only real option at this point is bankruptcy.

 

[cedricdubb]

Their only real option at this point is bankruptcy.

HI Ldij
I appreciate your reply - so if they file for bankruptcy will they still owe the money? is there any possibility the property company would settle for a less amount or payment plan?
thanks!

 

[LdiJ]

HI Ldij
I appreciate your reply - so if they file for bankruptcy will they still owe the money? is there any possibility the property company would settle for a less amount or payment plan?
thanks!

Commercial landlords rarely "settle" and wouldn't accept a payment plan for that kind of money that would be affordable. Bankruptcy really is the only option.

 

[tranquility]

Right now, parent's seem fairly noncollectable other than a garnishment of mom's wages. Just how sick is dad? Cancer sick or long-term disability but not a lot of cost sick?

 

[LdiJ]

Right now, parent's seem fairly noncollectable other than a garnishment of mom's wages. Just how sick is dad? Cancer sick or long-term disability but not a lot of cost sick?

A 25% garnishment when there is only a single wage earner could be disastrous. They NEED to file for bankruptcy.

 

[tranquility]

Disaster is if BK is filed for now and dad runs up a lot of medical bills.

 

[LdiJ]

Disaster is if BK is filed for now and dad runs up a lot of medical bills.

You have a good point there. I hadn't thought of that.

 

[cedricdubb]

You have a good point there. I hadn't thought of that.

My dad isn't physically sick - it's more like he's fallen into a deep depression since the business went down, hasn't been working for the last year.
I believe he is eligible to collect his social security soon - will they be able to take money from that? They just seem to be in a wait and see attitude -
I tried explaining to them before that this wouldn't go away
however they don't seemed so worried, They believe that since they have nothing - nothing can be taken. What happens will happen to them if they file bankruptcy?

Thank you all so much.

 

[tranquility]

My dad isn't physically sick - it's more like he's fallen into a deep depression since the business went down, hasn't been working for the last year.
I believe he is eligible to collect his social security soon - will they be able to take money from that? They just seem to be in a wait and see attitude -
I tried explaining to them before that this wouldn't go away
however they don't seemed so worried, They believe that since they have nothing - nothing can be taken. What happens will happen to them if they file bankruptcy?

Thank you all so much.

Their debt may go away (depending on the type) and they start their lives financially anew--except for bad credit.

 

[cedricdubb]

updated! Need some advice

so its, been almost a year now - parents have been officially sued and lost the case. Long story short, I've reached out to the leasing manager to ask if they would be willing to settle. They are willing to hear what I have to say. Basically, it would be my brother and I pooling some money. The original debt is $50,000. I may be able to wrangle $10,000 - my entire life savings, does any body think they would settle at this amount? or perhaps for less? Any advice on how to go about negotiating would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Zigner]

so its, been almost a year now - parents have been officially sued and lost the case. Long story short, I've reached out to the leasing manager to ask if they would be willing to settle. They are willing to hear what I have to say. Basically, it would be my brother and I pooling some money. The original debt is $50,000. I may be able to wrangle $10,000 - my entire life savings, does any body think they would settle at this amount? or perhaps for less? Any advice on how to go about negotiating would be greatly appreciated!

Why don't they declare bankruptcy?

 

[cedricdubb]

Why don't they declare bankruptcy?

thanks for you response. this has been suggested before , however I am unsure how they go about this? I have heard it is difficult to declare bankruptcy, because so many people are trying to. is this true?

 

[LdiJ]

thanks for you response. this has been suggested before , however I am unsure how they go about this? I have heard it is difficult to declare bankruptcy, because so many people are trying to. is this true?

No, that is not true. They will need a bankruptcy attorney, whoever bankruptcy attorney fees are usually pretty reasonable.