Idea...don't know if it is possible

[Taxed]

Like many, i find myself searching the forums quite often for questions on BK. The answers that are hardest to find are those that are state-specific, meaning questions such as "will the trustee take my refund" and "can I deduct my mortgage payment if surrendering my house". I'm wondering if we can set up threads for specific states where people can share their experiences and the advice that they have gotten regarding state-specific issues (perhaps they can be stickied...). I just thought it might be more helpful, especially to those just starting on their filing. As an example, I'm in Pennsylvania, and I was advised that mortgage payments can not be used on the means test if you are surrendering your house; you have to use the standard housing deduction. Any ideas, thoughts, comments?

[StartingOver08]

How many attorneys did you interview?

I have found that some BK attorney's do what is best for THEM and not necessiarily what is best for you.

To get specific questions answered I would study this forum and others BK forums, then see several BK attorney's for the initial free interview with your list of questions, debts and income.

You might be surprised at how the answers vary from attorney to attorney.

[Taxed]

I've already retained my attorney, after talking to quite a few. Honestly, I was just hoping to make things easy for those that look for state-specific info on the forums.

Personally, I like to research things on my own as well, I often search this site, and others for information. I thought state-specific threads may be helpful to some, regardless of whether one retained a lawyer yet or not.

[Bandit]

They could have a 50 different threads forum, one for each state. but then what? have thousands for each county?

The best thing I found for that is finding all the attorney websites in and around your hometown or the nearest big city. Some attorneys are very good at explaining on their websites exactly what to do and addressing a lot of the not so black & white issues.

Another excellent place to look is to study some case law in BK in your state. I learned more by studying other peoples cases than I ever learned from my own questions here.

What you are basicly getting at is needing several interpretations concerning one aspect of law in BK code, thus the more interpretations & examples in that state, the more clear it will be in knowing what to expect in possibilities for the gray matters. Yes?

A state to state forum with 50 threads would be nice though. It would sure cut down on a lot of repititious questions and people could be directed to that state for info so they know what to do
The nice thing about that is all the info & dialogue for that state you are questioning would be in one easy to find thread. Very Nice.

[Taxed]

I didn't want to go to the district level; I agree that would be difficult. State-specific threads could be used for questions on exemptions and to give people an idea of how those gray area were handled in their state. I've noticed through the reading of judicial opinions is my district, they often reference other districts in the same state. While I'm sure that opinions differ from district to district, I haven't found that they differ wildly in PA. Perhaps other states are different.