Question: I started a company and got some corporate credit cards I got a Visa, Mastercard & American Express and I got loans from Bank of America, Sun Trust and two credit unions. I wanted to see if I could market very popular moviesoverseas in places that usually don't see a lot of American movies. I tried to get the rights to movies like Avatar, Titanic, The Avengers, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Dark Knight Rises, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Toy Story 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Stars Wars 1: The Phantom Menace and classic movies like Gone With the Wind, Casablanca and The Best Years of Our Lives. I also bought office equipment at Staples and Office Depot and went to the Apple Store at the North Point Mall and got some Apple computers and iPads and iPhones.
But things didn't work out and now I have to file bankruptcy I live Georgia. Can these credit card companies, banks and credit unions sue me personally for the money I owe even though I put it on a company credit card and got loans for the business?
Answer: You did not say whether you personally guaranteed the credit cards and the bank and credit union loans. Most likely you did provide a personal guarantee for all the debt. It would be very rare for financial institutions to extend credit to your business without having you sign a personal guarantee. That usually only happens when big companies such as Dell, IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Exxon Mobil, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, McDonald's, Delta, Ford, Home Depot, Coca-Cola, etc are involved. These companies, of course, are well-established and profitable and commercial banks, Wall Street investment banks and insurance companies are comfortable enough with their credit profile to lend to them directly, without any personal guarantees. So, yes, you are likely personally liable for the money you borrowed. Please call us or write back so we can discuss your situation and what your best options may be. You may be able to file a chapter 7 or a chapter 13 or possibly we can do debt settlement on your behalf (that's where we negotiate with your creditors to reduce the debt), but we need to discuss the details.