6 Month Waiting Period

[woeisme]

the whole idea behind waiting 6 months is to prevent the appearance of abuse, i.e., that you were using your credit cards when you knew you were insolvent and weren't going to be able to pay them back, and possibly already planning to file BK. There are no hard and fast rules, and it varies with the type of BK you plan to file as well, at least so says my lawyer. I filed CH 13, so my lawyer said the 6 month rule wasn't a big deal (but ask MajorMike, he got an objection from American Express and now has to payback what he owed to them for buying giftcards with his AMEX right before filing.) I had just charged $1800 for a root canal and bridgework a month before my 1st lawyers appointment, and it was only 3 months from the charge (I made 2 payments of $50 each) when I filed, and they didn't say a peep. It really depends on your situation, but I'd say if it was a big new charge, pay a few payments on it. If it's a card you've used forever, and the charges were fairly small and necessities, I wouldn't bother making the couple payments while riding out the 6 months. And if you need to file earlier than 6 months, well, the worst that will happen is that those particular charges won't be discharged, but the rest should still be, so if you need to file, roll the dice and hope that there's no objections but even if there are, at worst you'll just be paying for those charges right before filing, the rest should still be discharged. If you are filing CH 7, you want to be even more careful about not showing abuse, those trustees tend to be more sticklers than CH 13, but again, not 100% of the time.

[BKORNOBK]

Fair Enough.

This site is a great find. I appreciate it.

I don't think Divi was asserting a sense of ownership with the term noob. It seemed as if you were fishing for answers, because many had responded. It looked as if you weren't happy the answers given.

[TEW]

Hi Tew! So does the money you are speaking of come from the exemption allowance you will receive from your house? I thought you had to surrender any cash you have when you file. Did I get that right, or did I misunderstand?

Yes
Qualified Retirement Plan Pennsylvania
We can prevent creditors from touching the proceeds of your retirement plan. If it is:

a government pension
under the protection of federal ERISA guidelines; or
if your plan includes restrictions on transfer, attachment or garnishment
Most employer retirement plans are exempt, however, it is helpful when consulting one of our attorneys to obtain a copy of you retirement plan summary from your payroll administrator or plan administrator for our review.

[PaKettle]

After hours of reading posts I found myself curious.

Certainly there is no definitive answer- I simply thought there might be a more to learn from generating more replies.

There's no need to assert a sense of ownership with the "noob" comment.

I appreciate all the help.

Thank you.

I don't they meant anything derogatory by it, just a friendlly term for a new poster looking for answers where there are no definitive answers.

I'd venture to opine that in most cases you don't have to wait 6 months, 3-4 months will do.

But some factors are:
*How much money did you borrow or spend? If it was $10k+ within 6 months, all with one bank, that could be a problem.
*Did you make 1-2 payments on it? That will help.
*Can you show where the money went? They may want to know.
*Do you have a compelling reason that you went bankrupt? A sudden loss of job or huge medical expense may help "sell" your big expenses then sudden bankruptcy.

If you borrowed $3-4k from a couple different banks, can show where the money went (i.e; not hiding it in a box), and made a payment or two, then you are PROBABLY okay.

Your attorney can help you figure this out, he should know how the trustees in the area think, more or less. So discuss any such issues with your attorney.