lost and unsure where to turn

[tanyao]

Hello,
My husband and I are debating filing bankruptcy. We haven't done much research and we have our work cut out for us. Our debt is of course all credit card related. Mainly we jumped into buying a house and put a lot of money into and it has all added up quickly. We are current on our creditcards put falling more and more short every month. Seems that we are using the cards to pay other cards or other bills.

Is it true that we have to stop paying on them before we can file either chapter 7 or 13??

For how long??

What if I need to use them to buy groceries or something that is really needed??

Is there a time where a credit card or a purchase will not be taken care of?? For example we purchased a TV about a yr ago. Will the courts see that as not a needed item, and say they will not cover it??

Thanks,
Any info will help greatly.
Tanya

[rrockinggramma]

filing BK

If you stop paying the credit cards prior to filing, then you will have cash in hand to purchase groceries etc. The rule of thumb is at least 90 days prior to filing there should be NO purchases on the credit cards. An experienced attorney should be your next stop as he/she can fill you in on how it all works. Also, he/she will let you know if you qualify for a chapter 7 or a chapter 13. Good luck.