Need Help

Hi
I am very new at this and really need some help, as I know nothing about filing bankruptcy. This is not for me but for my son who is in jail for abusing his wife and she is already filing bankruptcy chapter 7.

If your son and his wife are still married, when she files, he will have to file, too. What are you trying to help with? When she files, he will be included.

I saw Grace's post before I logged in, and you have to be aware that married people can file completely separate tax returns. They must be coordinated, but SHE doesn't need your son's signature to file her own tax return... nor does he need her signature to file HIS own return.

As for bankruptcy, she can go into bankruptcy court without him if they are legally separated. However, if she declares bankruptcy while they are still married, she will take him down with her unless he has the money to pay off her bills.

So is there any possibility that your son has failed to make arrangements for her upkeep in the interim before getting a divorce? That would make him a prime target of an adviser she might retain later during the divorce.

So, if your son doesn't file to divorce her or to be permanently separated from her, she can do him great damage financially... even though she may be without funds to do anything in the court. If she lives beyond her means or beyond what he is providing interim to a divorce, he will wind up paying.

Ummmmmm.... * head scratch*

What did my posting, or this thread, in fact, have to do with tax returns? No one mentioned anything about tax returns, nor did they mention divorce, or legal separation. Furthermore, what is the definition of "coordinated tax returns" ? I have honestly never heard of "coordinating" tax returns.

In any regard, how they file their tax return isn't necessarily related to how they declare bankruptcy. If they file separate tax returns ( no one remotely mentioned tax returns in this thread) they still must jointly declare bankruptcy IF THEY ARE MARRIED (which was the point of my posting).

No where in any of the original posters comments did the issue of divorce or separation come up. However, since it may be a possibility, I tendered my comments by saying "If they are still married", meaning, obviously, if they are not, then one party can declare without the other parties permission or involvement. Also, at no time did I mention that they needed each others signatures.

While the filing of taxes offers the opportunity to file jointly or separately, if you are legally married, you do not have the option of being exempt from bankruptcy proceedings if your spouse is declaring.