FLRussianHubby
Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I'm in a real mess and really have no idea what to do. To begin: I am a small business owner who has been financially right on the edge for the last 2 years due to several clients who closed up without paying large bills. Back in the end of 2007, I lost my insurance when a guy I was working for in order to get insurance closed his business without warning. His business was small enough that he did not have to offer COBRA. I found out that the insurance was gone (and he closed the business) when the insurance company sent me a cancellation notice. I had about 2 weeks to find insurance due to the delays in notification, and due to the fact that my wife was pregnant at the time and I had pre-existing conditions (Sleep Apnea, high cholesterol), I was labelled uninsurable. My wife and I are separated and her child is not biologically mine. I do not claim her child as a dependent on my taxes.
Fast-forward to March of 2009. I was involved in a major car accident (road debris) and my car was totalled. I was still upside-down on my car, as I had only had it for about a year. I had GAP insurance but it took 4 months for them to pay out the claim.
Then, 2 weeks after the accident, I had major emergency surgery due to a ruptured large intestine (caused by diverticulitis--NOT the accident, unfortunately). I was still uninsurable/uninsured at the time. I now have $100k+ in medical bills. This was at a public (County) hospital. In addition, I wound up with a major infection that caused an additional emergency room visit (about $5000) at a private hospital (I had no choice due to the ambulance).
In addition, I was out of work for at least 2 months, in addition to many of my clients leaving because they could not rely on me due to my medical condition (I'm a computer consultant and when systems go down and I cannot fix them because of my medical condition, customers go elsewhere). I lost my 2 largest clients due to the surgery.
My business is a class-C Corporation, so it is not visible as income (although it is quite in the red, anyways). Most of my work over the last year has gone to keeping the business afloat and paying back taxes.
I applied for financial aid by the county hospital and was informed that I only qualify for a plan where I still have to pay 25% of the bills. (interesting, since I had $6400 in income last year on my personal tax return).
Additionally, I need a second major surgery (a colostomy reversal) but am being held-up because the hospital will not perform the surgery unless I pay them off on what I already owe.
Now, for the questions: I need to purchase a car in order to work. My clients are located all over the South Florida area and I usually put up to 200 miles a day on my car supporting them. So, a junker would not survive a week. I cannot get a car loan due to the medical bills and the rest of my financial situation, so I intend on using the little bit of money ($6000 or so) that I received from a client recently to attempt to get a car with cash.
If I purchase a car over $1000, what happens if I am forced to file Chapter 7 due to the medical bills and all of the rest of the bad debts that I have accrued? I know that Florida states that only $1000 is exempt, but, quite frankly, a $1000 car will not be reliable enough to survive in the urban sprawl of South Florida, especially given the mileage I will wind up putting on it. I put over 30,000 miles on my last car in 1 year. Do they sell my car because it's worth more than $1000 and owned outright?
I have considered having the corp purchase the car, but I'm pretty sure that the commercial insurance that would be required on it would put me the rest of the way over the top.
I'm just trying to survive until things get better, but I'm quickly running out of options....
I'm in a real mess and really have no idea what to do. To begin: I am a small business owner who has been financially right on the edge for the last 2 years due to several clients who closed up without paying large bills. Back in the end of 2007, I lost my insurance when a guy I was working for in order to get insurance closed his business without warning. His business was small enough that he did not have to offer COBRA. I found out that the insurance was gone (and he closed the business) when the insurance company sent me a cancellation notice. I had about 2 weeks to find insurance due to the delays in notification, and due to the fact that my wife was pregnant at the time and I had pre-existing conditions (Sleep Apnea, high cholesterol), I was labelled uninsurable. My wife and I are separated and her child is not biologically mine. I do not claim her child as a dependent on my taxes.
Fast-forward to March of 2009. I was involved in a major car accident (road debris) and my car was totalled. I was still upside-down on my car, as I had only had it for about a year. I had GAP insurance but it took 4 months for them to pay out the claim.
Then, 2 weeks after the accident, I had major emergency surgery due to a ruptured large intestine (caused by diverticulitis--NOT the accident, unfortunately). I was still uninsurable/uninsured at the time. I now have $100k+ in medical bills. This was at a public (County) hospital. In addition, I wound up with a major infection that caused an additional emergency room visit (about $5000) at a private hospital (I had no choice due to the ambulance).
In addition, I was out of work for at least 2 months, in addition to many of my clients leaving because they could not rely on me due to my medical condition (I'm a computer consultant and when systems go down and I cannot fix them because of my medical condition, customers go elsewhere). I lost my 2 largest clients due to the surgery.
My business is a class-C Corporation, so it is not visible as income (although it is quite in the red, anyways). Most of my work over the last year has gone to keeping the business afloat and paying back taxes.
I applied for financial aid by the county hospital and was informed that I only qualify for a plan where I still have to pay 25% of the bills. (interesting, since I had $6400 in income last year on my personal tax return).
Additionally, I need a second major surgery (a colostomy reversal) but am being held-up because the hospital will not perform the surgery unless I pay them off on what I already owe.
Now, for the questions: I need to purchase a car in order to work. My clients are located all over the South Florida area and I usually put up to 200 miles a day on my car supporting them. So, a junker would not survive a week. I cannot get a car loan due to the medical bills and the rest of my financial situation, so I intend on using the little bit of money ($6000 or so) that I received from a client recently to attempt to get a car with cash.
If I purchase a car over $1000, what happens if I am forced to file Chapter 7 due to the medical bills and all of the rest of the bad debts that I have accrued? I know that Florida states that only $1000 is exempt, but, quite frankly, a $1000 car will not be reliable enough to survive in the urban sprawl of South Florida, especially given the mileage I will wind up putting on it. I put over 30,000 miles on my last car in 1 year. Do they sell my car because it's worth more than $1000 and owned outright?
I have considered having the corp purchase the car, but I'm pretty sure that the commercial insurance that would be required on it would put me the rest of the way over the top.
I'm just trying to survive until things get better, but I'm quickly running out of options....