Anyone survive bal transfer/advances sins in San Diego?

[keptdigging]

I've been playing the balance transfer game, and for years I played it well. But my income has dried up and here I am, huge debts, stopped paying CCs and unsecured lines. I've been acting like a deer in the headlights ever since I learned that 90 days was for a presumption of abuse; that is that 91 days is no safe harbor.

Magnitude: Unsecured is 245K; 195 to the financial institutions, 50K to my mom.

Anyway I need an attorney with the judgment and maybe the respect from his/her colleagues to navigate me through this. Not looking for the cheapest. If anyone has dealt with similar issues in this district and can recommend an attorney, please PM me.

I wish I'd found this forum before I stopped paying everyone... I made sure I made at least 4 payments beyond any advances I took, but I certainly could have made a few more.

Recent advances are not that large a portion of my total unsecured debt, but I'm worried that my overall debt level will make some creditors feel its worthwhile to sue for the whole balance and go fishing... and that years of the B/T game will embolden them to challenge entire balances. Moreover income prospects are shaky enough that if I come out with only the assets I can keep through a Ch 7, any debt surviving it could really sink my "fresh start."

Like many of you here, my real sin was trying too hard not to get here. The years have taught me that cleverness and hard work will always find a way to pay the bills.

I have read and read and read on these boards--lots of great help. But now I need some local expertise.

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And if I was a little younger and didn't have a child to support and a mom to pay back, I'd go to law school become a debtor's attorney. The way I see it, debt is the new slavery and these guys are freedom fighters.

[StartingOver08]

When was your last balance transfer?

If someone has a specific attorney they can PM you.

Time is your friend in the case of recent balance transfers. The best way to avoid the AP is to allow plenty of time from your last balance transfer and your actual filing date. Hopefully you have made a couple of payments on your recent transfers before you stop paying everything.

The $50k to your mom is going to need at least a year since that is an insider payment. The trustee will want those funds from your mom for the BK estate if you file before 12 months from the $50k payment to your mother. If it was a series of payments that total $50k, then it would be a min of 12 months since the last balance transfer payment to your mother.

[Dst1]

No, I think he means his mom loaned him 50K.

Nice mom :-)

[StartingOver08]

Oh! When he said '$50k to my mom' I thought he meant he transferred $50k to her!

Sorry. You can always repay your mother after your discharge on a voluntary basis.

[Dst1]

And if I was a little younger and didn't have a child to support and a mom to pay back, I'd go to law school become a debtor's attorney. The way I see it, debt is the new slavery and these guys are freedom fighters.

It's not really slavery but indentured servitude. There is a difference. Believe it or not the Founders would have been more abhorred by the latter than the former.

I certainly think this is correct in terms of Student Loans and has some validity to chapter 13 as well. But Chapter Seven is not.

[keptdigging]

Yes, nice mom. And yes, I'll be paying her back afterwards.

Last b/t (which actually was a b/t... that is didn't get deposited into a checking account) was in September.

I'm thinking my plan is to put off filing unless creditors collecting make things unbearable. But I've read here of some people working with great attorneys who have navigated them through this... just not local to me. Hence this thread.

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Agree on the indentured servitude. And yes, of course, Ch 7 is what prevents it... when available.

I am very very lucky to have never had any student loans.