Willis wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you totally for free.
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“Dear Steve,
I am 81 years old, rent an apt and am retired. Have 7,100 dollars on a credit card. A financial advisor told me to just walk away from it. I have no job, do not own a house, if they sue me what can they get? I am paying $200 a month on the debt. I had a bankruptcy 8 years ago.
What advice would you give me? This advisor said it would take 10 years to pay this off, under these conditions. Your advice, please.
I thank you, kindly.
Willis”
The Answer:
Dear Willis,
Well, your financial adviser could be technically right and that might be a reasonable course to follow as long as you have no assets, like stocks or cash in the bank, and your income is all from social security or some other type of public benefit. In that case there is nothing for the creditor to go after when they sue you.
But there is another side to this story as well. As long as you don’t close the door on that old debt, you will be potentially chased for it for a long time. The debt will be sold, sold, sold, and sold again to collection companies and others. The collection attempts will recirculate again and again.
The only way to prevent that for happening would be for you to either pay the debt off, continue making monthly payments or go bankrupt one last time.
I don’t know how you are feeling about bankruptcy again but for the cost of less than a year of payments you could put this debt behind you for ever and not have to potentially deal with it for literally, the rest of your life.
While ignoring the debt is a valid solution, and if there is no reasonable expectation that you are going to be able to pay off the debt, then I think putting this debt to a permanent rest not only improves the quality of your remaining life but ends an otherwise futile cat and mouse game by all parties.
Before you make any decision get a free bankruptcy review from a bankruptcy attorney and get all the facts. Then you can make the best decision for you.
The Answer: