<prompt> Human: My dad tried to kill himself three days ago. He has been depressed on and off for 20 years. He owns a construction business and since 2008, he has been struggling to keep it going. New work is hard to find and even the work he does have, he struggles to make real money out of the job. He currently has 4 jobs one large house and three smaller jobs going for which he has, as far as I understand, already been paid for at least partially. He had run out of money for these jobs, couldnt finish them according to their contracts, and felt that he would not be able to deal with this. Its been three days since his attempt, and he is expected to make a full recovery. My mother and I both agree that he cannot return to work for a long time, if ever. The business needs to be dealt with but were unsure of what to do. We want to shut down the business and in some way finish the jobs or transfer them to another contractor. Money has been tight for years. My mom works full time. Im in graduate school across the country and I have 5 siblings two older and out of the house, 3 younger than highschool age. My grandfather and uncle have offered to help us out monetarily to deal with the next few months. Im hoping to get advice on how these types of construction contracts work. What do you do if the expenses go beyond the original contract? If someone backs out of a contract, what happens then? Im thinking that opens the door to lawsuits. My mom is going to speak to her attorney on Monday and get some legal advice, but Im hoping to learn what I can until then. My dad declared bankruptcy a few years ago, I think around 8-9 years ago but Im not sure. Weve decided so far to pay the employees for their work up to this week then stop the work. My dads top employee and close friend will finish up things that need to be dealt with on the jobs sites in the next few days. An additional problem, the suicide attempt happened on the property of one of the jobs, the house that he was building. Theres a police report and Im sure the owners will eventually be told, if they havent already. I dont know what consequences this will have. TL;DR Dad in debt, tried to commit suicide. Now my mom and I need to deal with the business and debt.  <response>: Im not sure what the denizens of rpersonalfinance are going to have to say, but you guys just need to get a lawyer. A lot will depend on how this was set up by your father. For example, was he incorporated? Or was he doing business in his own name--potentially exposing his personal assets, and your mothers, to loss? Construction contracts also exist in an interesting area of the law. Whether he can renegotiate the contracts is something a construction law lawyer is going to be able to tell you. You may get better advice in rlegal but youre probably going to need additional information. if it were me, Id just sit tight and see what the lawyers your mom talks to say to do. Sorry about your dad; Im glad he survived. GL. 