utilities (lights)will they get cut off

[freshstart06]

Citygirl, the point is we are not "low" income. I have recurring medical expenses. prior to 2006 my husband's job was not stable and I had detached retina surgeries (those surgeries are very very expensive ranging from $5000-$12,000) I had three. With those surgeries you have to lay face down for 10 days, you can not lift or you have to walk slow and basically take it easy. Imagine doing that from Aug 2005-October 2006. With the six kids, weekly eye appts my husband missed a lot of work. He does not get overtime, he is salary. He ran out of sick and vacation. childcare was getting to be too much. We are a little middle class but we had so much expenses. My eye is better but now I have the broken ankle on my right ankle and refractured my left foot (old wound where the bones were still weak) Back to every 2 to 3 week appts. our insurance only pays 80%, we have to pay the 20% plus copays. Our dental bill is over $3000 with monthly payment plan of $279. I mean I can go on. Now add my my two daughters with asthma and just basic care for a family of six. BK was our only option because on top of recurring medical we had unsecured debt and back IRS payments. Getting rid of the unsecured will allow us to pay the medical and IRS without losing everything. It took about a little over a month after filing to see the positive results. We can again pay current bills including meical expenses ontime. I am not working at this time but once I heal up (yes, I am taking this time to completely heal before I go back to work) This may take some time but within a year or so we will be able to rebuild.

See, I am a mortgage broker and the expenses would out weight my income if I decided to go back to work right now due to the market not to mention the stress on my health. My husband is a Software Engineer.

[freshstart06]

by the way, kids are a blessing. I would not trade any for them. when I look at them it makes life much better. Having kids makes you fight harder.

[familyof7]

by the way, kids are a blessing. I would not trade any for them. when I look at them it makes life much better. Having kids makes you fight harder.

Amen! I would not know what to do without my five kids. Freshstart I misunderstood, you do have six kids I gave birth to six but one is now an angel in heaven and the other 5 are my angels on earth. It is hard but worth it. I would rather be poor and have my kids than rich and alone without them no offense to anyone who doesnt have kids.

[freshstart06]

LoL, no I meant a family of six. I have four kids... I would have had six but two did not make to this world. I understand what you mean about rather being poor with kids then rich and without.

they are so much fun. One day I was crying and my youngest daughter (she has a speech problem) since she could not express in words she found my little kitten and put her on my lap and my daughter just hugged me. she is the same one that use to lay with me after my eye surgeries, I would be laying face down for days and she would not move. Then one day she would get up and start playing with her brother and sisters and it never failed that was when my eye was starting to heal. It was like she knew when my eye would start to heal and not leave until it did. They all do something special. They just make some of the hard times better.

Nothing last forever. there are solutions for every problem out there, such as BK. I always say if you seek you will find.

[familyof7]

I have a dahughter that is 7 she is autistic and had speech problems you just learn to read betwen the lines with her. She has alot of other things going too. My 3 yr old she was also a preemie she is the caretaker in my house she can be the meanest but she is also the first one to love on you when you are sick.

[NOMOREBADCREDIT]

How did they know you filed Chapter 7? If your income is low, you should try to get some assistance. I think the Salvation Army has a program and HEAP will help, but I don't think they are open for a month. When I got far behind once, they gave me a special payment arrangement where I only had to put down $50 and they charged a part of the amount due on each regular payment until it was paid off. I heard that you could put the utilities on the bankruptcy, but they can require you to pay a service deposit afterwards. I don't know if adding them to the bankruptcy will keep the service on. Maybe someone else will have experience with this.

How did they know. Its a public record.

[NOMOREBADCREDIT]

Two questions for you, NMBC....
1. How much did you owe the light company when you filed?
2. Did you file on your own without a lawyer?

Understand that you can add what you owed the light company *BEFORE* you filed to your Ch 7. However, if you do so then the light company will typically require you to put down a new deposit to continue service that may actually exceed what you owe them now.

IMHO, it's far better in this situation to work with the light company and local agencies to set up a workable payment plan to pay them what you owe over time.

I OWE 400.00.
I file pro se.

[NOMOREBADCREDIT]

nomorebaddebt, I understand how it can be not to be able to afford the utilities after filing. Each persons situation is different. just because one person can afford to pay their utilities after filing does not mean another can. Things take time and it will not happen over night or in the next few months.

Even though, I did not make that statment, I apologize that statement was even addressed to you. Some of us was in so deep that we are living off negative cash flow. Since we don't know your situation we can't or should not judge what is going on in your life.

My husband income is over the median, we don't even have any cc debt but times are still hard because for years of not being stable (my husband just got a stable job in the middle of 2006 before then he only made $30,000 a year and we are a family of 6) my daughter's and my medical expenses, the expense to take care of a family of 6.. etc. can add up. It takes time.

So I apologize, most of us understand what you are going through. This judging thing has to stop. BK will allow you to be able to pay the electric bill after all the other debts are gone. It gets better. in the meanwhile, go to your local social services office and find resources to help you pay the bill.

THANKS for the kind words. and yes the judging has to stop.

[NOMOREBADCREDIT]

Ok, let's clarify the time line here, another poster already mentioned this...

I got the impression that the bill you "can't" pay occurred "after" filing BK, if that is the case, then you "can't" add that bill because it is an after acquired debt.

If the bill you owe the electric company is a past due bill that existed "before" you filed BK, then yes, you can add that bill to your BK. But as others have pointed out, you will then be required to place a deposit with the electric company.

As for the any other issues, I am not faulting you for not being able to pay your electric bill, but I am pointing out to other members that some thought has to be put into the timing of BK. I don't know your particular situation and why you decided to file when you did, but in general, if, after filing BK, you still cannot pay your normal bills, it was probably not a good time to file BK.

This is a past due bill before i file bk.

[DisneyGirl]

This is a past due bill before i file bk.

I hope you're able to get this worked out. Now is not the time to have more stress in your life. Good luck to you!

[familyof7]

If it was a bill due before you filed you can have that bill cleared and pay a deposit of 100 to 400 due in 20 to 30 days. It will at least buy you more time call them and notify them you filed that is all you have to do.

[SinkingFast]

If you go to Cash and Carry a short time before filing, you probably didn't get a chance to stabilize prior to filing BK.

When we first went to Cash and Carry, it felt like the bank acct went down, down, down. I remember Consulting with one attny during that period and he said, "If that's the case,........ If you can't pay your bills to live, then filing BK is not the solution for you." And he was right.

Transitioning to Cash Only existence does require some time to adjust. Setting limits on what you spend at the grocery store. Tracking how much goes out for gasoline, utilities, mortgage/rent, etc.

NoMore,............ Maybe it's possible to ask the Power Company to place your acct on Budget Bill Pay. You'd pay a set amount/month based on a monthly average of your anticipated usage. And see if the Power Company will add in an average amount each month to pay back the overage you have remaining as well.