opinions on taking the plunge

[rlgrace1]

I realize the decision is ours but would like "helpful" opinions on the
matter.My husband and I are in a mountain of debt(credit cards
mainly).We live in pa. and own our house ,we bought it in sept of 2002
at that time the house was appraised at 113k,we paid 110k(We have what
I believe to be a great rate of 5.5%).We also lease a car .Our main
concern is the house and car(that we don't lose it).


We bring home about 2850.00(after taxes,healthcare,ect) per month
and owe roughly 28k in credit card debt mainly caused by 4 big moves
done on our own and some foolishness on our part.Our living expenses
(without cards)including our mortgage of 855 mth run us about 1800 a
mth not counting food and when you add in min payments(on cc's)
totaling around 600 a mth it can be a bit overwhelming...We are not as
of now late on any payments but any emergency now would definitly put
us over the edge.


We are in our mid 30's with 2 boys(13 and 8) and would like to hear
some thoughts on chapter7,13 and other alternatives. we also have about
4k in my husbands 401k ,can they go after that? Right now I just feel
like I am clawing up a dirt hill that keeps caving in and I am not
getting anywhere.Thank you for any help/advice

[Dawn1970]

Well, it sounds like if you want to keep the house, that you'd probably have to do a Chapter 13 repayment plan. Chapter 7, of course, would wipe out the 28K in CC debt but you'd probably have to give up the house and find a place to rent. I think a lot of that depends on the trustee, what sort of mood he/she is in, whether you're current on your house payments, etc, etc. Get a free consult with a BK lawyer in your town and he/she could do the math for you and give you a clearer picture on what your choices would be. As for the car, they have to allow you a vehicle because it's a necessity but I think each state has a limit on what value your vehicle can have. Sorry I can't be more help; I'm sure there will be others along who can give you more insight. The free consult with a law office can clear a lot of things up, even if it's just with a paralegal. Listing what state you're in can sometimes enable you to get better and quicker info on here. Good luck!

[Dawn1970]

P.S. Looks like I may stand corrected; there is a thread started by somebody called "MyLife" under Chapter 7 and he/she states they'll be doing a #7 while reaffirming house house and vehicle. Maybe it's easier than I thought! I hope so!

[rlgrace1]

I did list my state...we are from Pa...Pennsylvania...and from what I read on exemptions we should be able to keep the house...I thought I read it as pennsylvania allows you to choose between state and federal exemtions which for our house I would choose the federal since it allows 17k in equity ...did I read it wrong?

[Dawn1970]

Sorry, I didn't see that you posted PA as your state.

Anybody on here know about PA house exemptions????

By the way, they can't touch the 401K. THat much I do know! ANd your debt to income ratio looks good, like you could probably do a Ch 7 with no problems, given the income vs. credit card debt you shared.

[mmcconn2]

The only advise I can give, is dont delay the enevitable, I tried for to many years to stay afloat and in the end filed ch7, Had I done it right away, I would still have the thousands of dollars I spent trying to stay afloat. My BK went very smooth and I got alot of good information from this site. Good luck!

[MOQuestions]

Reaffirm on the house

My understanding is that even if you file Chpt 7, you will most like have option to reaffirm on your loans, keeping the house. Check with a good lawyer, many will do an initial consultation for free or low cost.

[ks1488]

You may wish to visit the following free website....

http://allsolutionsnetwork.com/KS1488

This site provides complete information and services available for solving bankruptcy issues.


Best of luck to you!