yayme1227 had some great advice - definately worth looking into. You may also want to consider debt management as an alternative for your wife. You can compare the two
here & after reading I was definately considering debt management - especially as it points out the current credit crisis and the possible difficulties in getting consolidation loans.
There are other options too - but these are probably the less severe. Have a read of that article & post your thoughts back here. I'd be interested to know what you think.
All the best