[terry1156]

The big question is how did you accumulate the debt in the first place. Was it solely from you son, or was it also partially due to your spending habits? if the reason the debt came to be in the first place isn't addressed, you'll end up with less equity in your house and the same debt on credit cards a year from now, so that should be the first order of business.

if the debt was a one time occurance or something that has now been taken care of, then refinancing looks like a decent alternative, expecially if you can lock in a rate lower than you're currently paying.

I would shop around and see if you can get most of the refinance fees waived. Competition is still strang in this area and you can leverage that to your advantage is asking for reduced fees.