Gosh that was a hard thing to do and I'll admit I cried. 
The lawyer seemed really nice though so I feel a little more relaxed. Here is what they told us. We can file chapter 7 because we fall under the income on the means test and our living expenses are high with a family of 6. Since we have no equity in our home he said there should be no issues with keeping our belongings that we want to keep which includes one car that we are paying on (we will reaffirm), one junker work truck that is paid off, one ATV that is paid off 2003 model. Most important was our income taxes that I asked about on here yesterday. He gave the same advise as what I was given here. He said go ahead and file first and spend what I have to on the necessities and keep reciepts. We have to pay his fees which was $1599 with his fees and the filing fees, then we will have probably $100 for the counseling stuff we have to do, and probably $300 for an appraisal of our home. Then we have to pay about $800 in taxes, and catch up on our regular bills like gas and electric and phone which would be about 3-4 thousand. Then a few home repairs which will be under $500. He said after we do that we will file the papers and he can exempt the rest. We are expecting a large amount $11500 but he said if we do it this way the stuff we spend it on would be considered acceptable then the leftover amount would be small enough that we should be able to exempt it without problem. I didn't have the $100 to give him to retain him but I think he felt bad cause I was crying and said to just go ahead and give the creditors his information and mail him the check when I get it which will be friday. He also said that we will not reaffirm the house but we will keep paying and as long as we are paying we will remain in the home. He said that way if 6 months down the road we decide we can't afford it we can do a short sale and then they can't come after us for the rest. Does this sound right? Also if we stay in the home forever and pay the total amount due will we own it outright just like if a bankruptcy never happened since we didn't reaffirm it? It's all so confusing. Then he gave me the dreaded paperwork, he said it wasn't as bad as it looked but I got it home and OMG yes it is LOL. Wow I hope I have everything they want.
The lawyer seemed really nice though so I feel a little more relaxed. Here is what they told us. We can file chapter 7 because we fall under the income on the means test and our living expenses are high with a family of 6. Since we have no equity in our home he said there should be no issues with keeping our belongings that we want to keep which includes one car that we are paying on (we will reaffirm), one junker work truck that is paid off, one ATV that is paid off 2003 model. Most important was our income taxes that I asked about on here yesterday. He gave the same advise as what I was given here. He said go ahead and file first and spend what I have to on the necessities and keep reciepts. We have to pay his fees which was $1599 with his fees and the filing fees, then we will have probably $100 for the counseling stuff we have to do, and probably $300 for an appraisal of our home. Then we have to pay about $800 in taxes, and catch up on our regular bills like gas and electric and phone which would be about 3-4 thousand. Then a few home repairs which will be under $500. He said after we do that we will file the papers and he can exempt the rest. We are expecting a large amount $11500 but he said if we do it this way the stuff we spend it on would be considered acceptable then the leftover amount would be small enough that we should be able to exempt it without problem. I didn't have the $100 to give him to retain him but I think he felt bad cause I was crying and said to just go ahead and give the creditors his information and mail him the check when I get it which will be friday. He also said that we will not reaffirm the house but we will keep paying and as long as we are paying we will remain in the home. He said that way if 6 months down the road we decide we can't afford it we can do a short sale and then they can't come after us for the rest. Does this sound right? Also if we stay in the home forever and pay the total amount due will we own it outright just like if a bankruptcy never happened since we didn't reaffirm it? It's all so confusing. Then he gave me the dreaded paperwork, he said it wasn't as bad as it looked but I got it home and OMG yes it is LOL. Wow I hope I have everything they want.
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