# 10 months later, and now I'm facing judicial foreclosure and bankruptcy



## CrushedInNY (May 24, 2009)

My original thread started in 5/09 when my ex-wife walked out of our non-violent, no cheating marriage and house, is here -

http://talkaboutmarriage.com/going-...separation-left-5-days-later-another-man.html

Now I'm being hit with a financial nightmare thanks to her.
The house never sold and I wasn't able to even rent it in late 2009, so the bank foreclosed in November.
I had read about judicial foreclosures and was praying it wouldn't happen to me, but it did. They're not even legal in all states, but they are legal in NY state.
Yesterday I received judicial foreclosure papers, so I'm facing being sued for 10's of thousands of $$$, garnished checks, even possibly being arrested.
You can read more about judicial foreclosures here -

Mortgage lenders pursue homeowners even after foreclosure - Yahoo! Finance

Obviously I am more than stressed about this, and I find myself wondering WHY isn't there a law in place to protect people like me?
The papers show of course that they're coming after both me and my ex-wife equally, since we were co-owners on the house and mortgage. 
However, to sum up what I posted about in length in my last thread, she walked out without warning in 5/09 to go be with some other guy and live in poverty with him in a trailer in Nevada, and since in our 10 years, I never hit her, never cheated on her, I always worked, I wasn't a druggie, etc (AKA, I was a good husband), then why isn't there a law making me exempt from this financial nightmare?
I don't think it should matter that in 2005 I willingly agreed to enter into a house and mortgage with her (a house that she pushed for, for us to buy. I was nervous about it and wanted to just keep renting). I think what should matter is that she CHOSE to leave a non-violent house in 2009, which then FORCED me to have to move out 3 months later.
I spent the summer of 2009, in the midst of the worst emotional heartache of my life, trying to think on a financially responsible level, and convince her to come back, even on a platonic level, and keep working with me until our house sold, but she refused. 
I was unable to find a roommate, and I paid our $1,300 per month mortgage for 2 months until it was obvious she wasn't going to change her mind and come back, so I had no choice but to move out to a lower cost of living state, and I've been here in S.C. ever since.
I'm in an apartment and I'm working 55 - 60 hours per week, just to make enough $$$ to get by. My pay is only $9.34 per hour, so I need to work all the OT available since 40 hours only at $9.34 just doesn't cover all my monthly expenses.

Earlier today I was on the phone trying to find out my options and it was a multi hour runaround. I'm supposed to answer the summons within 30 days, and if not, I risk a default judgment against me. So, with how little I make, I thought maybe I'd be eligible for free legal aid. As it turned out though, my gross pay is $370 per week, and I was told that one single person living alone has to make no more than $280 per week to be eligible.
Who can live alone on $280 per week? That's barely over $800 per month take home pay. So at what I make now, I have no $$$ left over to hire a lawyer to answer the summons, it would cost about $1,000 to have a lawyer file the papers.
So my only other option now that I can see is bankruptcy.
I have a free consultation about it in a week and a half.
What I'm wondering now is if chapter 7 or chapter 13 will be better for me? More about bankruptcy here -

Thinking About Bankruptcy? What You Need to Know Before you File

This is just so morally wrong. I truly believe I should be exempt from this judicial foreclosure since her actions of leaving our house and not going back to it is what made all of this happen.
I even tried to get her to move back into our house with her then so called BF, now husband, after I moved out, but she refused. Why the heck would 2 people choose to stay in a trailer, when instead she was co-owner of a house and she could have moved back in there with him after I left, and just like with me and her for 3 1/2 years, we both worked and our dual income paid the mortgage.
She refused to come back and stay there with me until it sold, but yet she wouldn't even go there with him, and all the while she knew that I couldn't keep paying $1,300 per month alone.

I know I may have a better chance at winning the lottery but, it sure would be nice if somebody out there would read this and agree with it, and have enough "connections" to show it to someone powerful enough, who may be able to try to get this passed into law.
I'm far from the first spouse ever who has had this done to them, and people should know in the future that if you're co-owner on a mortgage, and there's no domestic violence in your marriage, that if you decide to just up and leave, you will be arrested and face felony charges.


----------

