There is roughly $_____.00 available each month, no taxes withheld at this point. I will need to start taxes asap as this will be held solely against me next year. Previous tax bills will probably be my sole responsibility unless contested.
The collection agency wants approximately $_____.00 for the van, in one lump sum payment.
Credit cards, I don't know about those.
House, utilities, the car and other bills coming due in June, I understand paying half as I was here in May. After that, I think child support and alimony cover my financial responsibility, approximately 50-55% of my gross pay. Unfortunately, I have to be able to pay for my housing, food and utilities as well. Obviously, if the court orders me to pay more than I will and I want to help as much as possible, yet I still have to be able to move on with my life.
I'm willing to keep you on my insurance as long as Human Resources allows, unless you get better coverage and it would be better for you to drop mine. Not a problem as I fully understand the savings through insurance on the thyroid and migraine meds might be better through another policy or company.
As far as the house goes, if you can keep it, I'm all for that. I would rather the kids keep their rooms, neighborhood, 'culture' so to speak. If you think you can't though, we need to get it on the market asap, and for a below market price simply to avoid foreclosure. I have looked for other options and there simply are none. The market is extremely weak for a house like this in this area now as the competition of brand new semi-custom homes is just too great. I really hate for this to happen for so many reasons, yet this is where we are. After being in default twice in the last year, __________ told me that they will start foreclosure the next time it even looks like default.
Regarding the sale of the house, we will need to work out some sort of agreement re; furniture, dishes, etc. We could have an open house/moving sale, leave everything where it is and just let people come in and bid. Another suggestion was to have an auction. They will handle everything and there will probably be a larger turn-out, ie; more stuff sold, as there is this whole culture based around auctions. This way we both walk away with a lump sum, obviously 50/50, and avoid any need for storage, moving or the process of dividing things up. This also leaves us out of the bartering end of things, it will be easier for the auctioneer to sell our stuff as they have no emotional attachment.
I think that's just about everything. The small stuff such as paying for the kids participation in sports, and things like that we can take on a case by case basis until there is a court order. I'm really not sure how that is considered, whether that is part of the support payment or something else. Again, I do want to help as much as I can and I think my track record over the years has been to put myself aside to provide for my family. I will continue to do that as much as possible yet I still have to maintain a separate home so the funds simply will not be available as before.
In June I will probably have surgery on my knee. Due to the nature of the injury, and the amount of physical therapy I have done, my recovery is an unknown. It could be 3-5 days before I can get around. After that the doc anticipates a 4-6 week physical therapy prescription. All in all, I should be up and running by mid July and recovered by August. I only share this so you understand it will be some time before I'm able to hustle any overtime or work sidejobs. Once I can hustle again, this will of course increase the dollar amount of your percentage.
As always, this is just my thoughts on the matter and I look forward to hearing yours so we can start to work towards an amicable settlement. Realistically, I think we should consider filing Chapter 13, either individually or together. I know I will most likely have to file personal bankruptcy, (chapter 13), or face garnishment due to the van, credit cards and taxes.
I am sorry for everything and have hoped, prayed and wished that things would go differently.
