Question: Our house is in both mine and my husbands name, with both of us being on the mortgage. Our house is valued at 174,000 and we still owe 160,000 on the mortgage. I am looking at going bankrupt, but not my husband. I owe 60,000 in student loans and can’t keep up with the payments. Our mortgage is not behind, but can we keep our house or will we lose it if I go bankrupt and how will this affect my spouse?
If he is still able to pay the mortgage will this affect me? Any info is appreciated.
Answer: Yes, you can keep your house if you go bankrupt. You will need to get a house appraisal and a print out from the bank of the amount owing on your mortgage; from that your trustee can calculate your share of the equity in the house. If there is any equity, you would be required to pay that amount while bankrupt. In your case there is probably very little equity.
Your bankruptcy trustee can explain the calculation in more detail.