I intend to live forever - so far, so good

[ClingingToHope]

The drip, drip, drip of money going down the drain.

Finally, the Ls meet and all STBXW's L apparently talked about was the house. So for $250 (my L's hourly rate) I got a letter today laying out the four options:

1. STBXW keeps the house and is responsible for the mortgage and expenses.
2. House is sold at whatever price it'll get on the market place and we'll be equally responsible for the loss.
3. The house is allowed to go into foreclosure and the creditors can pursue us both for the deficiency.
4. Me and/or STBXW file for bankruptcy to insulate ourselves from the deficiency on the sale of the house.

I just moved all of my big stuff into the new rental house. After moving the stuff in, it's bigger than it looks. The girls' beds are fine and they have plenty of room for dressers. Not much play space though.

Both couches and the chair will fit into the living room.

The big thing will be keeping the basement clean. I may ask if I can scrape and paint the walls and floor to make it more playable.

So I'm good. I'd easily opt for No. 1. Yes. I'd like STBXW to sell and get out. I don't really want you boinking other guys there. But she may already have done that anyway.

I can't really afford a $7,500 to $10,000 deficiency.

I'm prepared for a foreclosure if it happens. And I don't want her forcing me into bankruptcy.

This is a toughy because she's going to owe me some kind of settlement. If I get it and pay off a bunch of bills -- only to be forced into bankruptcy because of the house then that's wasted money. I'd be better off putting the money into retirement accounts that are untouchable in bankruptcy.

Any ideas on how I should respond?