So, we retained him WAY back in January. Will finally be able to finish paying the fees and file in a few weeks. I like my attorney, I'm confident he's not out to serve himself, he knows what he's doing, etc.
I do have a million questions though. Before we meet with him, can someone look over my list and tell me if you think I'm missing anything major?
1) Is all the paperwork in and ok? (I think I gave them everything they need... just want to double check).
2) What affect, if any will my husband's new job have on the filing? (He recently started a new job that puts us JUST over the median income, still pass means test though. HOwever, previous 6 months we are WAY under median income (like $10K under)).
3) How much of an issue is cash flow? We stopped paying the mortgage, planning on surrendering the house, which means we have more money left each month... but that money is getting saved to use for a deposit and first and last rent for an apt. Will having an "extra" few hundred dollars in the bank account make a difference?
4) How soon can we file?
5) Will they take an income tax refund (if we get one)? If they take it, will they take all the federal even if we have to pay state? (I work in one state, live in another and unfortunately the state we live has higher income taxes so we almost always owe MA $$)
6) Exact process of surrendering house and reaffirming car... how long approx. do we have in the house before we have to leave?
7) When/How will we get notice of a 341 meeting?
8) When can we purchase a car for my husband? (his current car is on it's LAST legs. If I have everything budgeted right and we can stay in the house until March 1st, we can purchase a used car for him in cash Feb 1st)
9) Will he notify secured creditors or will we need to do that?
10) Expecting any hurdles - any chance we will be forced into a 13?
11) Can we continue paying student loans during the automatic stay (they have already been deferred for some time. At this point, the $150 payment is in my budget and I'd prefer to just pay it off to not let the interest compound, even if it is a super low rate)?
12) When will the creditor harassment stop? What happens if they keep going even after the chapter 7 has been filed?
I think that's all I can think of. Anyone see anything I'm totally missing that I will need to ask about? I'm feeling relatively calm about the whole thing, but unfortunately, my husband is nervous as all get out and he hasn't had the heart to look on these forums and get educated (he still feels really really bad about the whole thing). I know he will be too nervous to remember to ask questions, so I need to remember them for both of us.
I do have a million questions though. Before we meet with him, can someone look over my list and tell me if you think I'm missing anything major?
1) Is all the paperwork in and ok? (I think I gave them everything they need... just want to double check).
2) What affect, if any will my husband's new job have on the filing? (He recently started a new job that puts us JUST over the median income, still pass means test though. HOwever, previous 6 months we are WAY under median income (like $10K under)).
3) How much of an issue is cash flow? We stopped paying the mortgage, planning on surrendering the house, which means we have more money left each month... but that money is getting saved to use for a deposit and first and last rent for an apt. Will having an "extra" few hundred dollars in the bank account make a difference?
4) How soon can we file?
5) Will they take an income tax refund (if we get one)? If they take it, will they take all the federal even if we have to pay state? (I work in one state, live in another and unfortunately the state we live has higher income taxes so we almost always owe MA $$)
6) Exact process of surrendering house and reaffirming car... how long approx. do we have in the house before we have to leave?
7) When/How will we get notice of a 341 meeting?
8) When can we purchase a car for my husband? (his current car is on it's LAST legs. If I have everything budgeted right and we can stay in the house until March 1st, we can purchase a used car for him in cash Feb 1st)
9) Will he notify secured creditors or will we need to do that?
10) Expecting any hurdles - any chance we will be forced into a 13?
11) Can we continue paying student loans during the automatic stay (they have already been deferred for some time. At this point, the $150 payment is in my budget and I'd prefer to just pay it off to not let the interest compound, even if it is a super low rate)?
12) When will the creditor harassment stop? What happens if they keep going even after the chapter 7 has been filed?
I think that's all I can think of. Anyone see anything I'm totally missing that I will need to ask about? I'm feeling relatively calm about the whole thing, but unfortunately, my husband is nervous as all get out and he hasn't had the heart to look on these forums and get educated (he still feels really really bad about the whole thing). I know he will be too nervous to remember to ask questions, so I need to remember them for both of us.
). He's also feeling *really* ashamed about the whole thing and sort of has a tendency to shut down in those kinds of situations. I was ashamed at first, and I tried everything else I could to avoid it, but at this point I'm over it. It's the best decision for our family. We made some stupid decisions, but mostly we just got whamed with really bad luck for about 2 years. I've learned from our mistakes, I won't make them again and the next time the proverbial stuff hits the fan I will be ready for it. I'm just ready to get this process GOING so we can get ON with our lives! 
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