One of the things that I like about being a bankruptcy attorney is the people meet and the stories I get to hear.
Sometimes, those stories are cautionary tales.
The other day I was doing a petition signing with one of my clients. She’s an older woman, almost near retirement age, in fact. She’s married, but her husband didn’t want to file. Unfortunately, he believed a lot of those myths about bankruptcy. While we were going over the petition, my client saw my calculation for their annual income. It was a big number, in the six figures. She was floored.
“That’s how much money we make?” she asked. I was confused. I thought she had a question about how I had calculated their annual income. But that wasn’t the issue. I realized that she genuinely had no idea how much she and her husband made together. During our preparation for filing, it was clear that they had kept their finances fairly separate. What wasn’t so clear was how much information he was keeping from her. Maybe, though, she had chosen to keep herself in the dark.
Filing bankruptcy is not the time you want to find out about your spouse’s finances. For a variety of good reasons, you should know your spouse’s credit activity. I know people have a variety of opinions on this issue. But imagine if your spouse is using your social security number to get credit in your name. Imagine if your spouse has an accident and you need access to his bank accounts or credit cards.
This isn’t a marital counseling website. This site is about bankruptcy. I wonder, though, if this woman would have needed me if she and her husband were more open with each other about their finances.
If you find yourself in this situation, bankruptcy may be a way to regain control over your finances. Even if you don’t think bankruptcy is an option, we hope you’ll come in for a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced Colorado bankruptcy attorney to talk about how it might help. You can call 303.331.3403 to make an appointment or use our online scheduling system.