How long do I have

[beachgirl]

Here's what I've got going on...we have paid a retainer, stopped paying our cc bills 3 weeks ago. We have to go back for another meeting w/our attorney to finalize our paperwork and pay the filing fee. My question is...how long can we wait to file before the cc companies start sueing? I would like to wait as long as possible to build up my bank account a little. Anyone have suggestions? Is this a good/bad idea?

[edwards2]

Okay what do you mean "build up my bank account?" I know the legal fees are a lot to contend with but there is a light at the end of the tunnel...The cc companies will start hounding you until you get your official case number. You can refer them to your attorney but my experience was until I had an actual case number they figured I was still fair game. Keep us posted.

[Jman30]

Once you tell them that you are in the process of filing a BK, most will back off. There is nothing they can really do. They can try to sue, but by the time all the paperwork is filed, you will already have a case number and they will have lost their filing fee.

[Minnymouth]

Beachgirl,
If you just stopped paying cc bills 3 weeks ago, you are good to go for several months...... they will call, send notices, etc for about 3-4 months before even turning over to collections, or considering sueing.... some even longer....

So don't worry about not paying them and getting sued. If you are going to file within the next 3 months, your bases are covered.....

Put back every dime you spent on cc and do not make payments on anything you are surrendering (home/auto/land)..... put that money away safely somewhere (not checking/savings account)....

Keep your utilities current at all times to avoid big deposits later or in the future.......

After you file then the problems all become your attorneys....... hopefully....

Minny

[nervousSC]

I stopped paying my BoA bill last October and they are just NOW telling me they're going to take legal action or refer to creditor. Luckily I will be filing two weeks from today.....I would say you have some time. Especially if the balances are that big. My BoA bill is 12K.

[bkbiker]

[lrprn]

Great list, bkbiker! Here's one more...

8. When we stopped paying our non-secured creditors 90 days before we filed, we used the extra to catch up on all our secured loans so they were each current when we filed. That way we didn't need the trustee to pay our two mortgages and two large secured loan payments inside our plan in order to catch up overdue payments. Our lawyer advised us to do this because the trustee takes a fixed % of your monthly payment as his 'salary' for administrating your BK - if you pay your big loans inside your plan, the trustee takes his now much higher payment right off the top before paying your creditors. If you don't have to pay your big secured loans inside your plan, consider not doing so if your lawyer says that's ok for your situation.