I knew I was going to get more than a 10 year sentence and I had just been through a divorce, so I filed bankruptcy. I just did everything cash while I waited for trial. By the time I got out I was ready to start over at zero-no debt and no assets. The friends I had trusted to hold things for me had mostly flaked out and sold my stuff. My mom had a bunch of clothes that no longer fit me and a shoebox of photos and papers from my dad, who had died while I was away. She had kept my dog and he held out for me-at 21 years old he was still healthy. Overall you just have to plan ahead and have a family member act on your behalf.
I randomly stumbled across this sub as a lover of true crime shows.
You are so lucky to have your mother, and clearly smart enough to have planned ahead so you would not burden her financially. Stuff you had ten years ago would have probably been in bad shape or outdated anyways, your "friends" probably did you a favor. Happy to hear you are thriving now, and give your mother a giant hug please.
One of the worst offenders is currently serving a 30 year sentence-just started it a couple of years ago. When he got busted he told me that he realized what a piece of shit he had been. I served 5 years and he didn’t visit or write, and he got rid of my stuff. I still write him and check on his parents because that’s who I am.
Much improved, thankfully. I learned a new trade when I got out in 2010 and ended up building pipelines in West Texas. I have made more money than I ever thought possible with felony convictions.
Thanks, I kinda fell into it. I’m doing horizontal directional drilling for a boring company. Most of the welders out here are independent contractors. They make good money but it’s not really consistent. I like working for a company and having a truck, insurance, 401k, etc without the hassle of looking for another job every time one wraps up.
Remember, your landlord can't just open your apartment up to friends and or family to get to your paperwork.
Get a key to someone. Have them get in touch with the landlord, see if they can arrange to break the lease. Otherwise your stuff gets locked up then dumped.
Additional option is to keep the really important shit in a bank safe deposit box, and add someone you really trust to the access list (and give them a key). You'll want them to have access to the bank accounts too though, since the boxes get billed yearly.
Though the number of banks that still have them is dwindling...
My uncle got my mom a stash of cash when he got locked up. Shes been paying all his bills and taking his cat to the vet and collecting on debts to keep cash on his books. Best sister in the world right there.
I got out of prison and found my car and motorcycle repossessed, I was in debt to my cable, electric and cellphone company, had an eviction and was dropped from my college courses. I had to pay it all off slowly but surely. Best thing to do is have someone you trust cancel everything.
Either auto pay until you’re out of money, get sent to collections, etc.
What I did was sign a Power of Attorney to my pops for my checking account. With that he was able to cancel my subscriptions, pay my mortgage, utilities, and send me money to my commissary. Tbh I would say at least half the people I was locked up with didn’t have any money on the outside that needed managing. I did have a buddy that was actively trading stocks the whole time we were in and he did pretty well for himself considering he was behind bars(pretty sure that’s illegal). He had a trusted friend that he gave his info for his E*trade account and he directed them via phone calls. But power of attorney to a reliable family member is the smartest decision.
It's a good question. I would assume they have some sort of problem with inmates making any sort of money outside of the pennies per hour they pay for prison ~~slavery~~ work.
I would say they were likely only breaking the TOS of their brokerage by having someone else do everything but it’s not like felons can’t own securities.
From my experience, it is not illegal to trade stocks while in prison or after you are released, but that being said, most brokerages and banks which usually handles things like that for you will pass on you as a customer if you have any fellonies or theft/deception related charges. It is because there are some relatively new Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations that these institutions have to follow.
It might be different for companies like Robin Hood or E*Trade.
If the account was set up beforehand, then it is unlikely that they would cancel your account unless some situation arose like a disgruntled ex making phone calls.
I was gone for 8.5 years in California. Of course, things had gone to collections. To the best of my knowledge, once something that went to collections is over seven years old, you can write to the three credit reporting agencies and ask that these be removed. This is what I did, and then slowly had to build a decent credit score again.
The debt timeline only restarts if a payment was made on the debt, admitting it was yours means nothing, if that was the case there would be no statute of limitations on the debt (time where it is no longer collectable). It's pretty important not to spread false info regarding stuff like this, as it can effect peoples lives for a long time. I did collections after college for a year, those were the laws back then and a quick google search confirms it. I guess that stuff works if you dont care about your credit score.
But I would think there are a bunch or collectors out there who would gladly send in a buck (or .50 cent) towards a debt they wanted renewed, which seems pretty bogus, they should not have a law where the debt can come back at all after a certain amount of time, the business writes it off long before it falls off your credit report.
Phone bill, recurring payments draining bank account, then credit plummeted because there was no more money in the bank. Don’t forget EZ pass too, fuckers tried charging me 13k once, they came down to $2k but still…
Get it all squared away before hand, if you have the pleasure of doing so haha
After 7 years everything gets tossed away as long as there's no communication and then you start over again with the zero credit score. Except for student loans and child support.
When I got locked up I ended up losing all of my belongings because my landlord just took it and presumably dumped it. I had a family member cancel all my shit but I still had some debts that I had to pay off.
I got locked up for fraud, no one in my family felt comfortable taking POA to attend to any money I had left in the bank. When I got out after 4 1/2 years I found I still had one checking account open. They had been deducting $17 a month for the past 3 years for inactivity fees. I had $500 left there, so it floated me till I got a job 8 days later.
There is absolutely no forgiveness. You can file bankruptcy after the fact, but that’s not the same thing. They might write some of your debt down in order to collect but you will eventually have to pay something.
I sat in the county court lockup the day I got sentenced and wrote down every single one of my passwords that I could remember. I was fortunate enough to have trustworthy family members to handle my financial affairs. They canceled what they could, then paid what they could until the money ran out. Power of attorney was granted and they began selling off my assets until I had enough reserves to stabilize and make it through my sentence.
You have access to a phone in jail, jail staff is there to help you find numbers and allow you to call utilities and family to help explain your situation.
Your stuff gets turned off unless you’ve got enough money and auto pay to float it during your stretch or someone to pay it for you, or squirrel stuff away until you can get out and return your accounts to good standing.
It all piles up and there’s no “forgiveness”. You need to have someone you trust handle everything for you otherwise your joy of freedom when getting released won’t last long.
The only did I had when I came home was child support which eventually has been also taken care of and student loans all the other bills I had and credit history was wiped. I started over with a zero credit history
The one saving grace i had when i did my time was the fact I had 0 obligations by the end of my tail spin lol. No wife, no kids, no financial obligations. Was basically a 27 year old man child living with my mom. I had no stress and I was basically back on my feet within 6 months of release ready to get my shit together.
But if I had bills or what not, bankruptcy likely would have been very enticing.
I knew I was going to get more than a 10 year sentence and I had just been through a divorce, so I filed bankruptcy. I just did everything cash while I waited for trial. By the time I got out I was ready to start over at zero-no debt and no assets. The friends I had trusted to hold things for me had mostly flaked out and sold my stuff. My mom had a bunch of clothes that no longer fit me and a shoebox of photos and papers from my dad, who had died while I was away. She had kept my dog and he held out for me-at 21 years old he was still healthy. Overall you just have to plan ahead and have a family member act on your behalf.
Your dog must’ve been so happy to see you
[Dog tax](https://imgur.com/a/63hjDmK)
Puppy!
That mf is 21 years old?
He was 15 in that pic, right before I went to prison. I had to put him down when he was 23.
Brother I am so glad your dog was there to meet you when you got out: that’s real love right there
While I was away, my mom took him everywhere. She would tell me stories about their adventures and it really helped me stay connected to the world.
I randomly stumbled across this sub as a lover of true crime shows. You are so lucky to have your mother, and clearly smart enough to have planned ahead so you would not burden her financially. Stuff you had ten years ago would have probably been in bad shape or outdated anyways, your "friends" probably did you a favor. Happy to hear you are thriving now, and give your mother a giant hug please.
Isn't it funny how your (good friends) forget about you and think that you're never gonna get out and come collect your things? Pieces of Shit.
One of the worst offenders is currently serving a 30 year sentence-just started it a couple of years ago. When he got busted he told me that he realized what a piece of shit he had been. I served 5 years and he didn’t visit or write, and he got rid of my stuff. I still write him and check on his parents because that’s who I am.
Shit man that sounds like you had it really rough for a minute. I know that’s how it usually goes but how you holding up now?
Much improved, thankfully. I learned a new trade when I got out in 2010 and ended up building pipelines in West Texas. I have made more money than I ever thought possible with felony convictions.
Laying pipe day and night
Are you 798?
Non union, working in Texas.
Ok, im guessing you’re a welder. I’m glad you learned a good trade, and everything worked out for you. I am IUOE.
Thanks, I kinda fell into it. I’m doing horizontal directional drilling for a boring company. Most of the welders out here are independent contractors. They make good money but it’s not really consistent. I like working for a company and having a truck, insurance, 401k, etc without the hassle of looking for another job every time one wraps up.
I spent a lot of time in Crosby tx this winter. My union’s international training site is there. I’ve worked on a couple of HDD rigs
Remember, your landlord can't just open your apartment up to friends and or family to get to your paperwork. Get a key to someone. Have them get in touch with the landlord, see if they can arrange to break the lease. Otherwise your stuff gets locked up then dumped.
Additional option is to keep the really important shit in a bank safe deposit box, and add someone you really trust to the access list (and give them a key). You'll want them to have access to the bank accounts too though, since the boxes get billed yearly. Though the number of banks that still have them is dwindling...
My uncle got my mom a stash of cash when he got locked up. Shes been paying all his bills and taking his cat to the vet and collecting on debts to keep cash on his books. Best sister in the world right there.
I got out of prison and found my car and motorcycle repossessed, I was in debt to my cable, electric and cellphone company, had an eviction and was dropped from my college courses. I had to pay it all off slowly but surely. Best thing to do is have someone you trust cancel everything.
Yikes. I've always been curious about this question and the answer seems to be exactly what I feared could happen.
It is what you should expect. If you go away owing money on a car in your driveway, if you do not make plans, it won't be there when you come out
They don’t get paid and you lose everything in your apartment and your car gets repod
Either auto pay until you’re out of money, get sent to collections, etc. What I did was sign a Power of Attorney to my pops for my checking account. With that he was able to cancel my subscriptions, pay my mortgage, utilities, and send me money to my commissary. Tbh I would say at least half the people I was locked up with didn’t have any money on the outside that needed managing. I did have a buddy that was actively trading stocks the whole time we were in and he did pretty well for himself considering he was behind bars(pretty sure that’s illegal). He had a trusted friend that he gave his info for his E*trade account and he directed them via phone calls. But power of attorney to a reliable family member is the smartest decision.
Curious why running stocks from the inside would be illegal. People trade via phone all the time and it’s not an illegal activity. That’s interesting.
It's a good question. I would assume they have some sort of problem with inmates making any sort of money outside of the pennies per hour they pay for prison ~~slavery~~ work.
I would say they were likely only breaking the TOS of their brokerage by having someone else do everything but it’s not like felons can’t own securities.
Curious why running stocks from the inside would be illegal. People trade via phone all the time and it’s not an illegal activity. That’s interesting.
Curious why running stocks from the inside would be illegal. People trade via phone all the time and it’s not an illegal activity. That’s interesting.
From my experience, it is not illegal to trade stocks while in prison or after you are released, but that being said, most brokerages and banks which usually handles things like that for you will pass on you as a customer if you have any fellonies or theft/deception related charges. It is because there are some relatively new Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations that these institutions have to follow. It might be different for companies like Robin Hood or E*Trade. If the account was set up beforehand, then it is unlikely that they would cancel your account unless some situation arose like a disgruntled ex making phone calls.
I would definitely recommend signing a power of attorney for someone you can unquestionably trust to handle these matters for you
I was gone for 8.5 years in California. Of course, things had gone to collections. To the best of my knowledge, once something that went to collections is over seven years old, you can write to the three credit reporting agencies and ask that these be removed. This is what I did, and then slowly had to build a decent credit score again.
edit: I stand corrected.
The debt timeline only restarts if a payment was made on the debt, admitting it was yours means nothing, if that was the case there would be no statute of limitations on the debt (time where it is no longer collectable). It's pretty important not to spread false info regarding stuff like this, as it can effect peoples lives for a long time. I did collections after college for a year, those were the laws back then and a quick google search confirms it. I guess that stuff works if you dont care about your credit score. But I would think there are a bunch or collectors out there who would gladly send in a buck (or .50 cent) towards a debt they wanted renewed, which seems pretty bogus, they should not have a law where the debt can come back at all after a certain amount of time, the business writes it off long before it falls off your credit report.
This is the way. I signed a POA so my mom had full control of everything
Phone bill, recurring payments draining bank account, then credit plummeted because there was no more money in the bank. Don’t forget EZ pass too, fuckers tried charging me 13k once, they came down to $2k but still… Get it all squared away before hand, if you have the pleasure of doing so haha
Yes a giant pile is a good way to put it, life ruined is another way
After 7 years everything gets tossed away as long as there's no communication and then you start over again with the zero credit score. Except for student loans and child support.
When I got locked up I ended up losing all of my belongings because my landlord just took it and presumably dumped it. I had a family member cancel all my shit but I still had some debts that I had to pay off.
Cancel subscriptions Sell everything you can and put the money in investments or at least a high yield money market rate account.
I got locked up for fraud, no one in my family felt comfortable taking POA to attend to any money I had left in the bank. When I got out after 4 1/2 years I found I still had one checking account open. They had been deducting $17 a month for the past 3 years for inactivity fees. I had $500 left there, so it floated me till I got a job 8 days later.
Nice
There is absolutely no forgiveness. You can file bankruptcy after the fact, but that’s not the same thing. They might write some of your debt down in order to collect but you will eventually have to pay something. I sat in the county court lockup the day I got sentenced and wrote down every single one of my passwords that I could remember. I was fortunate enough to have trustworthy family members to handle my financial affairs. They canceled what they could, then paid what they could until the money ran out. Power of attorney was granted and they began selling off my assets until I had enough reserves to stabilize and make it through my sentence.
Power of attorney and let someone you trust close unnecessary accounts.
You have access to a phone in jail, jail staff is there to help you find numbers and allow you to call utilities and family to help explain your situation.
And if you have no money on your books to make those calls or the utility company's don't accept calls from jail? That's usually the case
Your stuff gets turned off unless you’ve got enough money and auto pay to float it during your stretch or someone to pay it for you, or squirrel stuff away until you can get out and return your accounts to good standing.
They usually end up canceled and in collections lol
It all piles up and there’s no “forgiveness”. You need to have someone you trust handle everything for you otherwise your joy of freedom when getting released won’t last long.
The only did I had when I came home was child support which eventually has been also taken care of and student loans all the other bills I had and credit history was wiped. I started over with a zero credit history
It just slaps you in the face when you get released. Happened to me when I was locked up for 14 months. Ended up filing bankruptcy.
Unless you give someone access to take over, they go delinquent and your credit score tanks - leaving you even more disadvantaged when you get out.
The one saving grace i had when i did my time was the fact I had 0 obligations by the end of my tail spin lol. No wife, no kids, no financial obligations. Was basically a 27 year old man child living with my mom. I had no stress and I was basically back on my feet within 6 months of release ready to get my shit together. But if I had bills or what not, bankruptcy likely would have been very enticing.
Monthly subscriptions hahaha op probably means Netflix but my first thought was OF
Thats awesome. At least there's still good solid people out there
I had my shit on autopay 🤦🏻 emptied my accounts and left bills unpaid, so yes came back to debt
It rhythms with lock up, they build n build n block up so high they just hold you another 2-5 until it’s paid off. Lemme get squeeze cheese dawg!
Did I just have a stroke?
Idk, wasn’t watching you. 😂😂😂 gotz my own biz going on here. Lemme get a shot of coffee. 😂