1st bankruptcy and confusion sets in !!!

[Gabriel_S]

Well I hired a chapter 7 lawyer from Legal Helpers last Tuesday. Payed a $100.00 retainer fee and was told NOT to pay any bills from hence forth except for my mortgage and car payments. She set me up on a payment plan for 5 months and told me not to worry. Gave me the forms to send to my creditors and so on. I later found out that I can't file a chapter 7 until the lawyer bills are paid in full !!!

Am I going to be in deep water if I send these forms out. I'm told that the creditors can still try to bring a lawsuit against me until the filing is actually complete.

Has anyone else been in this situation before? It's crazy that these fees are so damn high. The reason I'm filing for bankruptcy is that I'm way over my head with bills already !!!!

TIA
Gabriel

[jessegirl]

I am in the same boat. I cannot file until Sept. or Oct. or until I finish paying attorney. I sent out the letters to all my creditors. My attorney said send out the letters Certified mail return receipt. Which I did. It was rather expensive cause I had to send out about 31 letter. Yeah, I know, WOW..... So i got the receipts back and I only get a few calls here and there. When ever I get a call I just give them my attorney's name and number and usually they don't call back. Maybe a few but for the most part of it they are calling my attorney. Most of the CC companies want to know if I paid a retainer, I tell them yes. So you shouldn't have a problem. Just sent the letters and give your attorney's name. My attorney's fees at over 3500.00. and yes, I was like OMG.... I am havng problems paying but once you stop paying the CC's you should be able to send money to the attorney.

[Gabriel_S]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply!!! This really is a scary part of my life. I never intended to go bankrupt. I've tried every alternative 1st, Refi, Debt consolidation loan etc. Got denied every time even though all my bills have been current since 2000. Bankruptcy was my last resort. Maybe it should have been my 1st !!!!

I am in the same boat. I cannot file until Sept. or Oct. or until I finish paying attorney. I sent out the letters to all my creditors. My attorney said send out the letters Certified mail return receipt. Which I did. It was rather expensive cause I had to send out about 31 letter. Yeah, I know, WOW..... So i got the receipts back and I only get a few calls here and there. When ever I get a call I just give them my attorney's name and number and usually they don't call back. Maybe a few but for the most part of it they are calling my attorney. Most of the CC companies want to know if I paid a retainer, I tell them yes. So you shouldn't have a problem. Just sent the letters and give your attorney's name. My attorney's fees at over 3500.00. and yes, I was like OMG.... I am havng problems paying but once you stop paying the CC's you should be able to send money to the attorney.

[epiphany]

That's the first I've heard of a lawyer giving out forms with the direction to send them out. Maybe it's a Legal Helpers thing.

What kind of forms were these? My lawyer only told me to direct phone calls to him. I had already sent one cease and desist before retaining him and he told me he was not a big fan of it.

I found out why when HSBC and their laywers sued me and then refused to talk to me at all.

ep

[jessegirl]

Us too. These CC company actually pushed us into bankruptcy cause they refuse to work with you. I would tell them, that if you put my interest up double or triple I cannot make the payments and most of them were like OH well. So even though i charged up, they kept raising the interest rates which cause they payments to go sky high. My attorney says credit card companies are evil.... He is right. I am really nervous about this whole process and keep saying to hubby what happens if they don't allow us to discharge or what happens if they put us in a chapter 13 cause now we are going to have money left over after the BK. I am losing sleep and just tired all the time from this. Can't wait until it over... I know actually how you feel..

[Pinkie86]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I got lucky and had an awesome lawyer who handled my calls from creditors before I fully retained him. After that happened, I stopped worrying and started realizing that the BK was the best and only option for me at that point in time.

I can completely understand how you feel - when I made the decision to file, and before I retained my lawyer fully, I stopped eating - I lost 10 lbs in one week, and I'm a fairly small woman to begin with. I was terrified. But then I found this forum, and since then, my appetite picked back up, my health has actually been BETTER.

It took me 2 months to fully pay my lawyer. And believe me, it FLIES by. Before you know it you'll be filing! That's how it happened with me anyway.

Until then, educate yourself and prepare as much as you can. If you're like me, the more you prepare yourself, the better you'll feel.

This too, shall pass. Best of luck and keep us posted!

[AngelinaCatHub]

We were all there once. It was uphill for us. We got by now we have an adversary procedure to fight. You are doing right. When a Creditor calls, just give them your lawyer name and number. Be polite is the best policy. ‘Hub

[Pinkie86]

Us too. These CC company actually pushed us into bankruptcy cause they refuse to work with you. I would tell them, that if you put my interest up double or triple I cannot make the payments and most of them were like OH well. So even though i charged up, they kept raising the interest rates which cause they payments to go sky high. My attorney says credit card companies are evil.... He is right. I am really nervous about this whole process and keep saying to hubby what happens if they don't allow us to discharge or what happens if they put us in a chapter 13 cause now we are going to have money left over after the BK. I am losing sleep and just tired all the time from this. Can't wait until it over... I know actually how you feel..

Jesse - I was worried about having extra money too. And then my car needed back breaks ($386), and my dogs needed Sentinel (prevention medicine for fleas and parasites). After I looked at everything I have to pay for, I won't have any extra money until after my 341. Which is odd, but God works in Mysterious ways and I won't question him. lol

Believe me, things will come up that you'll need the extra money for. It's called the BK Curse around here! lol

[Gabriel_S]

I think i lucked out and got a pretty good attorney.She advised me against talking with them directly. Said sending them a letter was the best way to go. It states that

"The above named client has retained this firm to file a bankruptcy case. Under 15 U.S.C. 1692c, 3rd party debt collectors are not permitted to contact our client after they have retained an attorney. All creditors should likewise cease all contact and direct further inquiries through our office. "

She even gave me envelopes with her address on it and they were already stamped !!!

That's the first I've heard of a lawyer giving out forms with the direction to send them out. Maybe it's a Legal Helpers thing.

What kind of forms were these? My lawyer only told me to direct phone calls to him. I had already sent one cease and desist before retaining him and he told me he was not a big fan of it.

I found out why when HSBC and their laywers sued me and then refused to talk to me at all.

ep

[Gabriel_S]

Thank you so much for the welcome Pinkie,

I've been going nuts trying to find answers all weekend. Did a ton of google searches but they all lead to BR attorney sites wanting your business. Their FAQ were quite lame actually. I'm SOOOOOOO glad I found this forum. Feels real nice to talk with friends in the same boat as myself, many having gone through the majority of the process already

All the best
Gabriel

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I got lucky and had an awesome lawyer who handled my calls from creditors before I fully retained him. After that happened, I stopped worrying and started realizing that the BK was the best and only option for me at that point in time.

I can completely understand how you feel - when I made the decision to file, and before I retained my lawyer fully, I stopped eating - I lost 10 lbs in one week, and I'm a fairly small woman to begin with. I was terrified. But then I found this forum, and since then, my appetite picked back up, my health has actually been BETTER.

It took me 2 months to fully pay my lawyer. And believe me, it FLIES by. Before you know it you'll be filing! That's how it happened with me anyway.

Until then, educate yourself and prepare as much as you can. If you're like me, the more you prepare yourself, the better you'll feel.

This too, shall pass. Best of luck and keep us posted!

[epiphany]

I think i lucked out and got a pretty good attorney.She advised me against talking with them directly. Said sending them a letter was the best way to go. It states that

"The above named client has retained this firm to file a bankruptcy case. Under 15 U.S.C. 1692c, 3rd party debt collectors are not permitted to contact our client after they have retained an attorney. All creditors should likewise cease all contact and direct further inquiries through our office. "

She even gave me envelopes with her address on it and they were already stamped !!!

Hmmmm, I actually like that approach.

And to answer one of your earlier questions, yes, they can still initiate a lawsuit but most likely won't. It is a business for them and they aren't about to throw good money after bad unless they don't believe you.

Five months isn't such a long time in the grand scheme of things. If you stick to the timeline, you should be fine. I decided to file shortly before Xmas last year (which is when I stopped paying the bills entirely though there were a couple that hadn't been paid for a few months) and just filed on 8/1.

And even if someone tries to sue you, you can buy yourself some more time by answering the summons...I did not on the advice of my attorney but there are ways of dragging the process out.

ep

[danaf]

what type of forms did she give you to send to creditors....what do they say?