I've yet again taken the blog "off line" to prevent potential looky-loos from gathering more ammo to use against me and to shield my plans from them.
My stats consistently show views in excess of those I make to this blog so I know some people are reading it. Sorry if this blackout affects innocent "fans" as it were, but there's just too much info available for persons with nefarious designs.
My current crisis is financial, in case you haven't figured it out yet. (Who am I writing this to if the blog is set to be viewed only by me? Future readers once I lift the block, silly...if I ever do.) This week's legal route was always a possibility, but, I thought, a rather remote one. Turns out, not so remote. Very real. Very fucking real.
The law firm wielding this against me holds another account as well so it's a high probability that I'll see them sue me on that one too.
I've gotten two offers from arbitration firms professing expertise in getting the best deal from the creditor possible. But that's dealing with them. Likely in the form of a reduced sum, like they already offered months ago. What's that going to look like? About 5 or 6 grand each? There goes my early retirement.
And then, wouldn't that just ring a big ol' dinner bell for all the others out there? Then it'd have to be Chapter 7 for sure, right?
Well here's the rub on that!
If I declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, I'd loose pretty much everything. They'd take the bank accounts, cash of course but, surprise surprise, my car too. You only get to keep up to $1,000 in equity in a car. Even though it's 8 years old, my low-mileage, like-new condition Spark is worth at least 5K Blue Book. They'd sell it and I'd get a measly grand for it.
But at least Florida's famous for their great bankruptcy laws regarding homeownership, right? It's an old trope for people to move to Florida and declare bankruptcy yet still stay in their million dollar homes. But that Homestead Exemption only applies if you've owned your home for more than 40 months. I've owned this for only 22 months. So I wouldn't be able to take advantage of this exemption.
Fortunately, it looks like mobile homes on rented land apply differently and are exempt under this clause:
222.05 Setting apart leasehold.—Any person owning and occupying any dwelling house, including a mobile home used as a residence, or modular home, on land not his or her own which he or she may lawfully possess, by lease or otherwise, and claiming such house, mobile home, or modular home as his or her homestead, shall be entitled to the exemption of such house, mobile home, or modular home from levy and sale as aforesaid.
And though my lot rent's already paid to the end of the year, what good is keeping my home without a car? There's not even public transportation in this county, let alone this city. How would I get to a job which I'd soon have to find? Guess I'd have to buy a clunker with that measly grand.
My other option is to just let the creditors sue me left and right. That law applies to all credit claims, bankruptcy declared or not. It likely take them longer to have access to my accounts giving me more time to redistribute as needed. Doing that pre-bankruptcy can be deemed problematic but what if there was no federal bankruptcy oversite? They'd be tasked with proving hanky-panky themselves and at their cost and time.
Of course I could say Op V II and buy gold again. If I had held onto the cache I had, I would have made out better with the gains over the years and sitting physically prettier with a stash that's, shall we say, much more stash-able.
Redact away, future Michael, if I ever do decide to let loose my right of free speech again. In the online world, as well we have been made aware in recent weeks, that freedom is most definitely not guaranteed.
EDIT: Looking into it again after posting, I see that if I don't use the Homestead Exemption (which I can't) I can place an exemption of up to $4,000 in personal property (so if the car is valued at precisely $5,000 or less, I can keep it.) And, the IRA is totally exempt as well...so that route is looking a tad better, especially as it would wipe the debt clean. And as for the money in savings, Health Savings Accounts are exempt and with my multiple diagnoses, I'm sure my lawyer would find a way for that to be set up and allowed. Maybe I will give a call...