need advice on ex filing bankruptcy

[chrystal1025]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?OH
i am recently divorced and living in ohio. my ex-husband, who lives in colorado, is filing for bankruptcy and we still have a few joint bills. since we split on relatively good terms, and i have custody of our 2 kids, he has kept me posted on this so that my credit will take as little a beating as possible. we have a joint 1st mortgage (house is in ohio) and a second only in his name, 2 joint vehicles and 1 joint credit card that i kept used. i know that this will affect my credit, and am not happy about it, but since my dissolution was very much in my favor and he has not only met his obligations, but gone above and beyond, i'm just trying to find the best way to lessen the impact on my credit so that i will be able to refianance in my name only. at this point in time, i am not in a position to do this. he has agreed to re-affirm the house, etc., if necessary. i do know that anything joint that he does not re-affirm is solely my responsibility and my questions pertain to that. i'm not too concerned about this as my dissolution settlement is enough to cover those payments reguardless of who's name they are in and i have a plan "b" in there in case he did quit paying.

1. i know how the credit card works-they won't re-affirm, closed my account and sent it to their collection dept within hours and my ex hasn't even filed yet! they stated that once they are notified, the account will show closed at grantors request (it already does but shows it's paid current) but so long as i continued to make my payments on time, or settled with their collection dept, that it would not be reported as a collection and not affect my credit. is this correct?

2. if he re-affirms on the mortgages, everything would basically stay the same as it is, and not affect my credit too much so long as they are still paid on time, correct?

3. if he doesn't re-affirm on the mortgages, how would that affect my home? as i stated, i am joint on the first (i'm listed 1st on the loan), so would he simply be released from the contract, and it would continue as is with me fully responsible, or would the bank try to call the loan or foreclose? if they won't foreclose, then i wouldn't have to worry about refinancing as he wouldn't be on there anymore. i'm kind of scared to call and ask the bank, because as you see from question 1 above, that only got me in trouble before the fact, rather than after.

4. how would it work as far as the 2nd mortgage if he did not re-affirm, as it is solely in his name? there is no equity in the house-this is a 125% loan. i'm not on the loan, but did have to sign something because the house is joint.

5. would having him re-affirm or not on these cause the least damage to my credit? i do know that should he re-affirm everything, our credit will still be linked and although we have a good working relationship now, that may not always be the case and i could be forced to sell the house if things did get ugly and he wanted his name off of the house and i couldn't get financed on my own. so i am at his mercy right now, but am trying to cover my bases while i can. i tried to speak to a laywer, but was told to just wait to see what he does and go from there, but i need to know what will happen. he would just file on everything, and only re-affirm his truck (very small loan), so that our credit would be finally separated, but ,for now at least, he will not do anything that will cause me and the kids to lose the house.

any advice at all would be helpful!

[Ladynred]

the account will show closed at grantors request (it already does but shows it's paid current) but so long as i continued to make my payments on time, or settled with their collection dept, that it would not be reported as a collection and not affect my credit. is this correct?

First, 'closed at credit grantor's request' in itself IS a negative. The fact that its not past due may be the saving grace. A 'settled for less than full' would also be a negative. As long as you keep the account up to date, it should not be sent to collections and should not affect your credit.

2) Correct.

3) If he doesn't reaffirm, then YOU would be solely liable for the debt. As long as you keep the payments current, they're not going to foreclose, they don't want the house, they want the $$$$$.

4) If he doesn't reaffirm the 2nd mortgage, the debt will be discharged - his liability for the debt will be null and void. However, if the payments aren't kept current, the 2nd COULD force a foreclosure action on the house. Since YOU are not on that loan, they would not come after you for payment - unless you are forced to pay them to keep the house.

5) would having him re-affirm or not on these cause the least damage to my credit?

Whether he reaffirms or not, it should have little impact on your credit as long as the payments are made. Only if the payments stop on a joint debt would it directly affect YOUR credit.

His bankruptcy COULD show up on your reports. Watch out for this because you can dispute that bk notation OFF - its not YOUR bankruptcy, its HIS.