Between a Rock and a Hard Place...

Option one I would not recommend. Trying to find a driver with all the costs associated with it will get you deeper in the hole. Quality drivers are hard to find because they are already working. You open yourself up to lawsuits because driver try to fake a back injury. Sell the truck.

 

The trucking is for those who can run. Not so much as working to death, this isnt the Bataan Death March.

Sometimes trucking requires a extended period of awake time far in excess of normal human sleep. Which will lead to safety issues etc if not violations as well.

The best bet is to plan loads to avoid those problems. when I first started running 5 days and four nights without sleep as a young man was normal in the north east with round the clock LTL crap including unloading. Its possible I took years off my lifespan doing that. Where i am now in age does not matter anymore. I look for quality in life every day.

Im more worried about the unsecured credit cards. BK is your defense. IF you don't and they get a judgement on you with those cards with that much debt you are finished.

 

This is by no means meant as snarky, but you can't get out of a hole by digging out of the bottom.

You weren't any good at running a box truck business. That sucks. You can't change that.

What do you bring to the table that makes you think starting another business where you have no experience, and are relying on a stranger to boot is going to make you money? Isn't that the question?

I have been where you are now. I had to shut down a business, jump in the truck, and drive my wheels off to pay the debt I had accrued. It was hard, it was very hard, but it was temporary.

Sell the truck, get a second job, and pay the debt off in a year or two. It's no fun, but it's only temporary.

 

Your driver better be working his tail off if you need to gross $5000 a week. Especially if your trying to do that off of load board freight.

You might do that one week but you are NOT going to string 2 let alone 3 weeks together.

What kind of trailer you thinking of?

I think you will be hard pressed to get beyond 170k gross a year with 1 van trailer let alone $260k.

 

You know i tell people never to get in a business with friends or family. This is why.

You are screwed, declare bankruptcy to either restructure the debt and force your partners to deal with it or to become totally insolvent and see what assets you have to pay down the debt.

The authority may be worth $2k, the truck more or less $20k and the credit card debt - which is stupid to do without capital from all involved - well that may be a loss and could be paid down if it is restructured debt.

The only hope is to get into the truck yourself and work with courier services and possible a last mile service or if you have a lift gate, an appliance store. You will have issues with expedite companies unless your truck has a sleeper which I doubt, with the exception of XPO or FedEx who do use day cab straights.

Just a warning ... don't get a tractor and expect to find a driver. Either you will have to drive or become insolvent for both personal and business debt.

 

How was the partnership setup. LLP, LLC, S Corp, C Corp, hand shake?
What I would do, is not what I would recommend. Because I can drive the truck full time and make the money needed.

When you "the partnership" file bankruptcy, include all the partners.

The one partner that filed bankrupt did he include any company debt?

All partners should share the debt equally according to the share of corporation agreed to when you started.

Good luck.

 

If you find out you owe taxes on all of this and cannot pay, the IRS does have the ability to visit your banks and say freeze so and so's accounts across the board.

When you find out, you are reduced to whatever cash you have in your house and handouts from your family if any. You WILL NOT have a penny from anything coming in for a very long time.

The IRS is the gorilla that has not yet been spoken about. they may even be able to take the house. And god only knows what else.

 

You need to talk to a business professional.
your going to need an attorney. It’s going to get messy. You don’t have a friend any more. get ready to file corporate bankruptcy and list your partners in the filing.