Never filed before, please help.

[lostcause]

I've been reading over all the material on filing Ch7 for the last few days. My situation is a bit complicated, and unfortunately I haven't found many clear answers. I haven't yet spoken with a lawyer yet; I was hoping some of you might be able to help me get things straight before I go pay for the help.

First the background:

After an ill-fated job change, I moved from the Southeast to the Midwest. My house hasn't sold, the job didn't work out, and now I am out of money. I am moving back and taking up my old job again. Sadly, I have ran up considerable cc debt, I will owe several months rent (and my landlord will sue to over the broken lease), I will have to repay my relocation money from the first move, and to top it all off I will be paying for my own move back (on the cc's).

On to the questions:

-Which state will my exemptions and means test comparison be from? I am in one state, and have lived here for six months; however I am moving back next week and will be filing my papers there. As I read the rules, it is the state you resided in for the previous 180 that counts, but I have read nothing about my situation.

-Is paying for my move using credit considered fraudulent? I know the courts don't like it when you rack up cc's before filing, but in this situation it is unavoidable.

-How do I calculate my salary? I have pay stubs for the job I'm leaving (covering the last six months), but I will no longer be at that job. Will I have to estimate my pay for my job at the time of filing?

-Finally, I have taken the means test from B22A, and the schedule I and J. On both of these, I pass the criteria to file Ch7; however I do make a decent living. Is it likely I will be able to get a Ch7, or will I be forced into a 13? The state I will be living in is SC, if that helps.

Sorry for the length. If anyone can help me, it will greatly aid my peace of mind.

[HHM]

I've been reading over all the material on filing Ch7 for the last few days. My situation is a bit complicated, and unfortunately I haven't found many clear answers. I haven't yet spoken with a lawyer yet; I was hoping some of you might be able to help me get things straight before I go pay for the help.

First the background:

After an ill-fated job change, I moved from the Southeast to the Midwest. My house hasn't sold, the job didn't work out, and now I am out of money. I am moving back and taking up my old job again. Sadly, I have ran up considerable cc debt, I will owe several months rent (and my landlord will sue to over the broken lease), I will have to repay my relocation money from the first move, and to top it all off I will be paying for my own move back (on the cc's).

On to the questions:

-Which state will my exemptions and means test comparison be from? I am in one state, and have lived here for six months; however I am moving back next week and will be filing my papers there. As I read the rules, it is the state you resided in for the previous 180 that counts, but I have read nothing about my situation.

Based on my answers to your following questions, probably the state you are moving too, because you will need to let some time pass before you file.

-Is paying for my move using credit considered fraudulent? I know the courts don't like it when you rack up cc's before filing, but in this situation it is unavoidable.

Wait 90 days from the day you incur the charge, and you should be ok.

-How do I calculate my salary? I have pay stubs for the job I'm leaving (covering the last six months), but I will no longer be at that job. Will I have to estimate my pay for my job at the time of filing?

The six months rule is hard and fast. It doesn't much matter if you not employed their anymore, the trustee goes by the last six months. However, since you will need to wait a minimum of 3 months before you file, it won't be too big an issue.

-Finally, I have taken the means test from B22A, and the schedule I and J. On both of these, I pass the criteria to file Ch7; however I do make a decent living. Is it likely I will be able to get a Ch7, or will I be forced into a 13? The state I will be living in is SC, if that helps.

You need to determine what the state's median income is for your area.

Sorry for the length. If anyone can help me, it will greatly aid my peace of mind.

Finally, waiting to file won't be too much of an issue, most creditors will not move fast enough to do any real harm even if you have to wait 3 months

See the answers in red above.

[SinkingFast]

To calculate your income, you use the last 6 months of pay stubs. Simple as that.

Say you worked 4 months at the new job, then had a couple of months of no income before you were able to get your old job back,.............. You'd add together the 4 months of income, divide by 6 to get your average salary/mo, then multiply by 12 to determine you average annual income.

Since you didn't mention family,............ The Median Income for one in SC is $32,110/year. If you're under that, you can fill out Form B22A of the Means Test.

For cases like yours, where you may not be able to use one or the other State's Exemptions for whatever reason, the Court has ruled you could use Federal Exemptions. You'll have to ask attnys if that's possible for you.

You are gonna want to wait a while to file if you are still charging things on your CC's. There's a 70/90 day rule you should really abide by. 70 days on Cash Advances, 90 days on CC charges. If you file within that time frame, the burden of proof that you didn't make the charges fraudulently falls on you. After that time period, the burden of proof shifts to your Creditors.

[lostcause]

Thanks for the help. I was planning on filing rather soon, but I will now look at waiting the 90 days.