Help??????

[amalgamation]

hello everyone. my name is heather. i started debt settlement a short time ago, before my husband lost his job. i thought things were going to work until then...now we are not able to put up the money for settlement. i am over 3 months behind on our payments! i'm thinking bankruptcy...but what happens with the debt settlement firm i am using??? also, what is involved in filing bankruptcy if you have to do it yourself??? what information do i need to gather, etc.? i'm so lost...could someone help me?

thanks for reading
heather

[HRx]

hello everyone. my name is heather. i started debt settlement a short time ago, before my husband lost his job. i thought things were going to work until then...now we are not able to put up the money for settlement. i am over 3 months behind on our payments! i'm thinking bankruptcy...but what happens with the debt settlement firm i am using??? also, what is involved in filing bankruptcy if you have to do it yourself??? what information do i need to gather, etc.? i'm so lost...could someone help me?

thanks for reading
heather

Hi Heather,

What sort of debt settlement firm did you use? Non-Profit, etc...? You can either file for BK yourself or hire and attorney to file the petition for you. Simply hiring and attorney to file your BK petition is typically less stressful. However, you'll be doing all the leg work in compiling all of the paper work the attorney needs to file the petition. However, doing this is easier than filing the BK petition yourself!

Because I do not know what sort of agreement you engaged in with the debt firm and the creditors, it's difficult to state where you stand there. However, under normal circumstances, all agreements with debt and creditors firms become suspended under the automatic stay, and null and void upon discharge of your BK.

Start making calls to different attorney's to get an idea of what is involved, in filing for a Chp 7 BK.

Good Luck!

[Dawn1970]

I would DEFINITELY get a lawyer. That's just my two cents' worth! Most of them have extremely liberal payment plans (small retainer, monthly payments) because heck, they know if you're bankrupt, you're not likely to have a lot of money. Just take whatever money you would put toward your bills and use it to get a bankruptcy lawyer instead. It will take maybe a week for him/her to file the appropriate papers at the court house that will freeze any collection efforts and then you can exhale a little.

As for the debt settlement firm, I know nothing about those because I have never used one but I would be willing to bet you can include them in your bankruptcy.