I am not sure, but when my brother in law filed for BK he had to disclose all of his assets. I believe you would have some cash assets in the prop firm, and the court may decide that this cash belongs to the credit card company.
i am not sure what to do. This is a bad situation. any other traders ever file for bankruptcy from credit card debt? Will a prop. firm still allow one to trade if they go BK? Is is something that they will defiantly find out ? or is it something that might just slip by in 10 years? what happens if you let the firm know what happens?? will they let you go or just put the info on file?
Didn't you get an HR manual when you started? Check that and see what it says. My wife works for a company that runs its own trucking. They pay top dollar for the best drivers, on your 2nd ticket you're gone. They have the policy where you are required to inform them immediately if you get a ticket, and they run your driving record every year to keep you honest. They just let a driver go who got his 2nd speeding ticket last May. The transportation manager was shocked that the driver didn't tell him right away; he gave the driver the old "why didn't you tell us, we will find out anyway, not telling us is a fireable offense". The driver said "It was my 2nd ticket, I would have been let go on the spot. By not reporting it, I got to work an extra 7 months." Truck drivers don't have any ethical governing body, no fiduciary duty to their clients or employers (aside from not stealing the truck or cargo). I would worry more about the legal implications and what my go on my "permanent record" than losing my job.
I believe that a bankruptcy has to be disclosed on a u4 but the firm itself will decide whether to retain you or not. If you do good business with them, why would they turn you away?
I had a friend with 100k in credit card debt owed to Bank of America. If you can get together enough cash and are willing to wait about 6 - 12 months you can negotiate with the credit cards settlement department. All the credit card companies have one and you will have to dig to find someone who has settlement power. Tell the credit card company you have bankruptcy as an option but would like to settle. My friend was able to get them down to a 20K final settlement. Make sure you get a written letter detailing that the account(s) are settled in full and final.
Not sure what the exact rules are in the US....here in Canada, credit card debt is considered unsecured...that is, lender beware. Certainly, you should always pay your debts, if nothing other then the moral obligation to do so. But if you cannot, and you're in debt to credit card companies, they cannot come and take any of your assets. Of course, you would probably be inundated with phones calls all day from collection agencies. Not sure if they have them there, but here we have credit counselling agencies...essentially wht you do is provide them with all your debts, and they call the debtors,tell them you can't pay, and ask if they are willing to accept a lower settlesment. The companies (especially if they are credit card companies, and thus, no claim to any assets) almost always agree (of course, if they have security against the loan, this prob wouldn't work....they'll just come and take your security). Anyways, the agency gets the best deal you can, and totals it all up, and gives you one monthly payment (usually much lower then you were paying). You pay teh counselling agency directly, they obviously take a cut, and then they pay the companies you owe money too. I would not declare BK unless you have absolutely no other choice.
Consolidating your debts with a consumer credit agency will actually lower you fico score more points than filing a chp 7. The consolidation places end up making you 90+ late on the accounts which stays on your credit for 7 years. Even if you settle the 90+ remains on your credit the full 7 years. Also all of your account get closed. A chp 7 will remain on credit up to 10 years but you will actually be able to rebuild your credit and score faster due to the fact that lenders know you can't file again for 8 years so they see you as a lower risk than those who went through consolidation and could still file bk if they racked debt up again. It really depends on the situation. If you are sitting on 6 figures of credit card debt and barely paying the minimum, then bk is the best financial alternative for a fresh start. Also if you settle for less, you get a 1099 for the difference from the bank that was owed and could owe more in taxes.
Thanks for the clarification....I've never had to go through it myself, so I don't know the specifics.
I declared chapter 7 back in 2001 (when the bankruptcy laws were more in the consumers favor) after I got laid off from an online brokerage firm where I worked. My only debt was from credit cards and medical bills. While going thru the bankruptcy, I obtained a series 55 license (I already had the series 7). Prior to the bankruptcy even being completely discharged I started working at a prop firm (Worldco), but I had to disclose it on my U4. I have since worked at a few licensed firms and obtained a series 24. At each new firm I have had to disclose my bankruptcy on the U4 and the State Securities Administrator's Office here in Michigan have me complete a form (basically a balance sheet) for their office. Some state's securities regulators may have different rules...Texas and Florida did not seem to care from my memories and the office in Michigan explained to me that usually a registered individuals balance sheet is better after the bankruptcy, so they just monitor it to make sure. I guess that they believe you are more tempted to do something unethical with a load of debt that you cannot pay, than after filing for bankruptcy and eliminating or restructing that debt. If was kind of strange that when I started at Worldco they did not worry about my bankruptcy, but a few individuals who had worked in sales roles with customers, were having trouble getting in the firm, because the customer complaints and arbitration cases had tainted their U4s.