Filing question

[jodie3134]

So I'm looking for some feedback on our situation and when to file.

I can honestly say that bankruptcy was not an idea in my head of something we would pursue until last weekend. I sat down with my husband and poured it all out. We decided to contact attorneys to see what our options were. Up until that weekend we were using our credit cards and making payments.

Now that we have decided to file and retained an attorney we are obviously done using plastic and making payments. I know the law states that you can't spend $500 or more on luxury goods within 90 days of filing. I looked through our statements and we have 3 credit cards (2 discover and one chase plus about 7 or 8 retail cards).

Our 2 discovers do not have over $500 charged in the past 90 days and what the charges were used for are definitely NOT luxury items. The chase card is a little different.

Back in the beginning of June I charged $1000 for the rental of a condo for vacation. That month I also made a payment of $1000 to pay back that charge. I basically wanted the airline miles so that is why I charged it. Everything else that I have used the card for is smaller purchases and nothing luxurious.

Should we wait until this is out of the 90 day range to file? That would be mid September. My only concern about waiting is the creditor calls and how annoying they will be.

Thoughts? Has anyone been in a similar situation where they were using their cards prior to filing and not had an issue? I'm not asking about fraud.

I'm asking about honest charges. My attorney doesn't seem to think it will be an issue, but it still makes me nervous.

[SMinGA2]

My first advice is not to rush into anything. Even if you're 110% sure chapter 7 is right for you, you still should take time to plan things out. Get used to living on a cash basis for a few months. You'll HAVE to do it once you file, and it may be a little tricky getting used to. At the same time, you'd be letting time pass since that transaction.

Its almost impossible that a creditor could do anything to you in 2-3 months time. Yes, they'll call. But nothing more than that. You could help with the calls by looking into getting a free Google Voice # and changing your contact # with the creditors.

[btbeme]

I would not worry about those charges. Your filing will be at least 90 days after they were made. Most people will take at least a month, or many more, between "exploring" BK and filing. And creditors will generally do nothing for 90-120 days after your last payment (except call incessantly).

Explore the threads here, especially the stickies at the top of the forum. And relax!

[Amy26]

I did not have a problem with any of my creditors about charges on my cards or payments. I used mine right up until I filed and was current on all my accounts. We had to use them for food and necessities ... I had even done some large balance transfers within six months of my filing which people say is a big no no too.

How many payments have you made on the card since you made those larger purchases? In my layman consumer NON attorney opinion, I don't think you would have a problem either...but that's just my opinion.

The only 'problem' I had which wasn't really a problem was that I used my Kay Jewelers card to purchase mine and my husband's wedding rings about a month before I filed. I had the intention of reaffirming that debt but my lawyer advised me to just wait and see if they made a fuss. They did end up sending a reaffirmation agreement but he told me not to sign it. They didn't show up at the 341 and didn't make any objections before I was discharged.

Your lawyer knows your district and should have a pretty good idea as to what usually 'flies' and what doesn't and he/she is saying that you should be fine, I would trust them. The worst that can happen is they challenge the discharge of certain purchases and you would still have to pay those back.

[ksgirl38]

I think it just depends on your state. From what I've seen and heard some trustees in some states are just easier than others. Like someone mentioned, your attorney would know if it's going to be a problem.

I was using my credit cards up until the point I saw my first attorney. I was about 90 days past due when I filed. It won't really matter if you change your contact numbers with your creditors or not because I think they keep the old ones on file. One reason I never give out my employers number. I know with Verizon wireless you can block up to 5 numbers for free so what I did was when I got the first call, didn't answer, googled the number, determined it was a creditor and added it to the blocked list. I only had 3 credit cards so I don't know how many you have, but the only real problem I had was one week before I filed one of them contacted my mother. I'm still not sure how they got her number. Usually if you file within 90 days of stopping payment it doesn't really give them enough time to take any legal action or do anything other than call you. You can always just ignore the calls and let voicemail get them. They rarely leave messages.

You said you used the credit card to pay for a condo and airline tickets. Have you actually taken that trip yet. If not, I'd wait to file after you've taken that trip.

My 341 is on Tuesday so I guess I can tell you after that if the credit cards were questioned.

[keepmine]

Wait out 90 + days.
The charges themselves won't be an issue. The only problem with filing within 90 days is, you paid over $500 to an unsecured creditor in that time frame and the trustee could go after the creditor for that money. Again. it won't affect your bk in the grand scheme of things but it will mean your bk isn't entirely routine run of the mill which is the object of the execrise.

[tobee43]

i would also wait out the 90 plus days. no one can be certain about how picky your trustee will be. i know in our area our trustee completely followed that 90 day rule to the day. some delve into a bit more. also, we paid right up until that day, because i didn't want our credit hit harder than it was going to be. and, by the way, that worked well for us. we were still in the high 600's after our bk. why, because we never gave them time to report a late payment we filed and then the stay was put into effect, so it gave the companies little or no time to get the negative reporting on there. (we were just lucky it worked out that way).

amy's situation clearly shows it's really going to depend on your districts trustee. but better to be safe than sorry. you don't want you bk being held up for preferential payments. i put on the google voice mail and wait a bit.

best of luck! i'm sure it will all work out.

[kornellred]

No bankruptcy attorney will file your petition until any chance of presumption of abuse is eliminated. If you are using credit for anything within 90 days of your filing, creditors will assume that you had no intention of paying them back. They would probably be right, but the burden of proof is on the creditor.

[AngelinaCat]

As the others have said, you will have plenty of time. You will be seeing three-four different attorneys before you decide on one. It is very unlikely that you will see all of them in the space of one week. Then you will be given a lot of homework to do, including gathering the following: the last six months of pay stubs or pay advices, if you have Direct Deposit; at least one year's tax return, both Federal and State--if you are unlucky enough to live in a state that has state income tax; some districts want to see two years; you will need to provide 6 months worth of bank statements; AND you will be filling out what looks like a MOUNTAIN of forms. Take one page at a time and go slowly. If you look at the entire stack, you will become frustrated, stymied, and anxious.

Don't do that. Trying to rush will lead you into making mistakes. So take your time.