Originally Posted by
wanttobehealthy 
redatlanta-
THANK you so much for the info....
to answer some of the questions... the student loans were consolidated into both our names when we got married. they can not be unconsolidated, ever. ive spent hours and hours on the phone with sallie mae and the consolidation choice was a poor, stupid one.
so the collection student loan debt is in both our names. that's why im paying his share too because otherwise im at risk of defaulting too-- consolidating loans together was so stupid... i had very few loans, he had tons, and it was a horrid mistake to do that on my part.
i own my home (i have a mortgage) so ive been worried about BR because i don't want it to impact my ability to keep my house... i had been looking at ch 13 because of that vs. ch 7...
again, thank you so much for your post... it makes me feel somewhat less terrible about this inevitable choice i have to make...
If you are current on your mortgage you most likely can keep the house without issue. A problem might arise if you had significant equity in the home, and significant debt you were trying to discharge. Additionally, IF you have a second mortgage on that house that is dischargeable in Ch 7. My hope would be that you rolled the student loan debt into a second
, but it doesn't sound like it.
You have an attorney and they are the best to advise what you can and can't keep. I don't want to totally get your hopes up because there might be some reason why you couldn't keep the house, but I doubt it IF you are current on the mortgage. While in BR you also might look at modifying your loan if you are paying a higher interest rate. Your atty can answer every question about what is best for you.
Ch 13 has its merits but 9/10 times I would push for a 7. When you are already struggling I say just get rid of it. You'll have a 60 month payout with a 13 and yes you may be reducing the monthly costs, but its still the same amount. I would advise only going for 13 if its the difference between keeping the house and not and yo want to keep it AND can afford the additional payment under 13..
Do you have any remedy under the Divorce decree to file for contempt for his failure to make payments? Were you both ordered to pay x amount?