young and stupid... now i'm in trouble. seeking advice

[leftyf]

Haven't had many weekend collection calls this weekend...I must be hitting that next stage where they're getting ready to pull out the big guns! I haven't paid any cc since May, so I just passed that 60 day mark. I haven't retained an attorney yet (Ch 13 probably), but I think I know the guy we are going to go with so I'm ready to call if I start getting judgements or a summons or something like that. I'm trying to make it 6 months so I can keep a bonus out of my income...none of the attorneys I have interviewed have actually said I need to do that, but I read that on the board somewhere? Maybe they're just refraining from anything that could be taken as real legal advice. With my luck, I'll probably get a big Xmas bonus too instead of the normal "Jelly of the Month Club." I have a silly little drinking problem myself, but I'm not sure I can blame booze for my financial issues...I can say it hasn't helped. I don't really spend that much on booze (IMHO), maybe $2K/year, but it probably has impaired my decision making abilities (i.e. buying a $300K house at the top of a housing bubble when you're already spending more than you make on a monthly basis.) I am relatively old (40) so be glad you are young...I have a lot of friends who filed young and hardly seem impacted now at all. I sort of envy them now, but at the time I tried to convince them that they should pay back their debts. They were smart enough to ignore me. This is my 3rd run-in with major debt...I dug myself out the other 2 times ($8K and $20K, respectively.) I'm really hoping the ch 13 finally teaches us a lesson...currently at about $85K in cc debt. File your 7 now, be glad you can bail on the debt and learn a lesson at a young age, and never, ever spend more than you make...that's all the advice I have. And, be very careful when making a home purchase...housing used to be considered good debt, not so sure anymore. If I had to blame one thing (which I can't) it would be over-extending myself on housing and thinking I would get decent appreciation. Do not buy any house that is more than 2 times your annual income, that's my opinion. Thanks for letting me express it.

Leftyf
P.S. I'm guessing "Bankruptcy" will be quite fashionable over the next 5-7 years...kind of like tattoos were for awhile. Could be wrong, but we'll see. You'll probably have company...heck, Paris Hilton will probably even file just for the publicity!

[deeptrouble]

hopefully this week's consultations will lead me to a definitive solution

ive been trying to not stay so stressed out about this stuff but its impossible not to be.

its not the end of the world i keep telling myself, but it's hard to tell myself its not sometimes (ok, a lot of times)!

[leftyf]

Yeah, I know what you mean. At times I'm pretty non-chalant, down to business about it and other times I feel like someone very close to me has died. I get this feeling like I need to vomit. A company I worked for went bankrupt (ch 11) and I remember my boss constantly referring to it as a "financial restructuring." Thinking about the multi-million $ executive bonuses that were paid out as we were stiffing our creditors sort of helps me justify my own irresponsibility, to myself anyway. I used to laugh to myself at the time saying just call it what it is "Dude, we're bankrupt." But I've taken to using the same language with my wife regarding our situation. She loves that term over using the word bankruptcy. The lawyer I met was very adamant about the fact that "bankruptcy is not a punishment." That really stuck with my wife who looks at it like we are turning ourselves in to the authorities and just waiting for our sentence. This guy is probably the attorney we will go with, but his office wasn't that nice and he didn't dress that well. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing...he does bankruptcy cases only and didn't seem to have a bunch of paralegals running around, so maybe he just doesn't make the big $. Anyone know what a bk attorney pulls down annually?

[Minnymouth]

Lefty,
I would say a good bankruptcy attorney MAKES A VERY GOOD LIVING.............

And I believe that a attorney that works without paralegals TAKES A PERSONAL interest in his clients......

One that uses a paralegal, lets the paralegal do the "grunt work" and he appears in court and signs off on it only......

When I call my attorney I want him to "know" what I'm talking about, not have to consult his paralegal for information......

AND NOW that attorneys are held liable for their actions regarding your cases, there are a lot of them going out of the bankrtupcy business....

Choose an attorney you feel comfortable with, answers your questions, and works with you and for you.....

[deeptrouble]

Time to call a few attorneys... and try to write down some questions to email to the one attorney I've already met with.

[deeptrouble]

Ugh, I just remembered that on one of my cards, I added my girlfriend as an authorized user.

she never even activated the card with her name on it though - i totally forgot about it until i found it a few days ago.

did my actions already negatively affect my girlfriends credit report?

[JollyGG]

Ugh, I just remembered that on one of my cards, I added my girlfriend as an authorized user.

she never even activated the card with her name on it though - i totally forgot about it until i found it a few days ago.

did my actions already negatively affect my girlfriends credit report?

If she is just an authorized user - no worries. Just have her check her credit report and if it is reporting negativly have her dispute it. An authorized user is not responsible for the card.

[guzzie]

those reports are none of their busisness..guzzie

[deeptrouble]

wow... ch7 lawyers are hard to find for me.

i think this is the only time in many years that i wished i had a yellow pages around... we threw it out months ago argh

[lrprn]

wow... ch7 lawyers are hard to find for me.

Check the Martindale site at http://www.martindale.com/Bankruptcy...countries.html . Click on your state and see what you find there. No guarantees of course - you still should meet with 3-4 different bk lawyers if you can to see which ones you mesh best with and seem to understand the law given your own circumstances the best.

[deeptrouble]

ugh... talked to another lawyer and raised new issues that i hadn't even thought of yet.

i currently owe my previous employer $$$ b/c they didn't stop paying me after i quit.

i've so far made one payment to them $550 or so to pay them back... the lawyer today informed me that what i was doing was considered preferential treatment of a creditor and advised me that i should probably stop paying them

only problem is... i still use my previous supervisor and co-workers as references for new jobs, and my long term girlfriend still works for the same company.

(insert expleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetive here)

[deeptrouble]

wow... i feel sick.

[lrprn]

wow... i feel sick.

As each of us learn the true extent of the financial hole we dug for ourselves along with all the consequences of our poor decisions, it is always very hard. But at least now you know the truth, and you can make decisions to start the climb out of the hole. Those decisions may not be what you would like to do, but a fresh start usually requires making hard decisions looking at what's going to best for you in the long run.

I assume you cashed the extra payroll money your old employer gave you by mistake and spent it. How much money are you supposed to pay back?

[deeptrouble]

As each of us learn the true extent of the financial hole we dug for ourselves along with all the consequences of our poor decisions, it is always very hard. But at least now you know the truth, and you can make decisions to start the climb out of the hole. Those decisions may not be what you would like to do, but a fresh start usually requires making hard decisions looking at what's going to best for you in the long run.

I assume you cashed the extra payroll money your old employer gave you by mistake and spent it. How much money are you supposed to pay back?

~ 2700... 2200 left.

[lrprn]

~ 2700... 2200 left.

Yes, the lawyer you consulted is probably right. If you pay back this much, it very well could be considered a preferential payment by your trustee if you pay it within six months of filing. It won't hurt you - all the trustee will do is force your ex-employer to give all the money back to distribute to all your creditors.

If your goal is to maintain a good relationship with your ex-employer in the future, after your Ch 7 closes, you can pay back whoever you want. You could have a straightforward conversation with them before you file explaining why you can't pay them back now and have a hand-shake gentleman's agreement (nothing on paper) that you will pay the amount you owe them back after your case closes. Then do it. That can likely salvage that relationship for you. Just a thought....