Urgent help needed for Ch 7 in CA, question is when?

[Proxy]

I am just starting to learn more about Ch 7 BK. So thankful for this forum and great folks like you all, who can commiserate and help I have lots of questions and will try to post them separately for ease of answering.

I am in CA planning for Chapter 7.

Last year March 2008 I had taken 55K from my IRA (will declare it this april 15th) Since it will be at least a year if not more since I took out the money, (shown as income) if i file this year say july or later, I will be fine, won't I?The money has been used for living expenses.I am filing single.Unemployed for year 2008.

Read a sticky that one should allow at least 90 days if one has a large cash advance/cash advances on a single card within a month. Oh dear, I did have a transaction whereby I got 5K traveller's cheques plus several $500 ATM withdrawals recently. That is going to look really bad and I should wait 90 days before filing or should I wait longer, say 6 months or more?I only have unsecured CC debt, and a house (1st and second/line of equity) but the CC's are quite high 5 personal and 2 biz cards (small biz under a business license not inc)amounting to about 95k-100k Ouch, I am way over my head and have been unemployed for quite a while. I took money to finance a deal that went south. Stupid thing to do but I am now paying the price.

Feb 1st, I just stopped paying both my first and second payments (first mortgage 180K with Wells and line of equity of 150K with Citi) . I am sure I will be hit with a 1099.
After all is said and done, I will have no assets, will be insolvent as a matter of fact !!Woe is me.I can sit here and berate myself, but I am going to do what i have to do, file BK Ch 7. Sigh!! It is tough even to admit that I have to come to this.

There is a good chance that I may get a foreign scholarship to do graduate school in Europe this Fall which means I may have to leave the US by August latest.( the economy being what it is, i figure retraining and grad school would be the way to go)

Big questions- 1)Should i do the 90 day wait , which means I file earliest July1st.(if i get the 341 a month or so later, i can always fly back)for the meeting. How much time in advance do they give you to show up for the 341? Is the 341 the ONLY time I have to show up for Ch 7??

2) Or should i wait, say after the year of school is over July 2009 when i can come back to the US to file and wait for the 341? Meanwhile, my CC creditors would most likely be filing judgements in court (high balances)I will be out of the country so how will those judgements affect me???

3) With such high CC debt and no assets besides being unemployed for such a long time, will i even be able to get a Ch 7 discharged??? Will the trustee go thru with a fine tooth comb and look at 2 years of statements to see how and what I have spent money on???

4) Should I not go overseas, but wait till this whole sordid mess is done with and my Chapter 7 discharged or wait till next year to file ?


I am thinking that the foreclosure might take a while so maybe i should wait later to file???

I am quite confused, especially about the timeline of it all.Please advise since I need help in sorting out my plan of action.Please advise soon since I am beside myself with worry. Thanks for reading this far.

[JRScott]

You probably need to see 3-4 lawyers in your area and have them advice you.

I'm not sure of the foreclosure process in CA but it is unlikely you'd even have to leave the home before the end of this year I bet. You'll have to miss 3 payments before they even start the foreclosure process, and then that usually takes several months itself.

What you took out last March doesn't matter. To determine income in a bk you take the last 6 months income and double it for the yearly income.

You need at least 90 days from the use of the last use, and really with a 5k travelers checks you might want to wait 6 months this is something to ask a lawyer in your area to see what would be best.

I know the economy is rough, but the number one thing you need to work on is getting a job if at all possible, even if it is just flipping burgers at McDonald's, Carl's Jrs, working at Subway, greeter at Wal Mart, whatever is out there.

I would not file until you found a job, but I would immediately stop using all credit cards, lines of credit etc. The reason you want to wait is that something unforeseen could come up that gives you expenses that would not be discharged if you've already filed.

I probably would not travel abroad if it was me. It might be best to see if you can get financial aid to a local community college or state college that would be less expensive. You have to consider the expense of living abroad too, and right now with no job I don't see you easily affording such.

[Logan]

Proxy,

If you're in SB or Ventura area I can recommend a good lawyer.

Logan

[Proxy]

Thank you both for your input.

The advice is much appreciated:-)

I am considering going abroad because the graduate(Masters and Phd) school tuition is free(socialist Europe:-) and I will have a grant and scholarship to finance the living expenses part.(I have dual citizenship thru one of my parents:-))Many are going back in school in view of the doom and gloom and it is so much more expensive to go back to school here in the US. (most expensive industrialized country to get a college education here)

I found out however that the university won't give me an answer till late July(for Sept start of school) So that gives me some time to be in the US and take care of things.

Another question. I can file with a lawyer anywhere in CA right? Does the lawyer have to be in the same city I have my official address in? Say, I foreclose on the house but move by July and have my new address in another city, 2 hrs away, I can still file wherever I am located physically, as long as it is in CA??

JRScott, why do you recommend I don't file till i find a job??

I will get start to look for attorneys. Is there a sticky somewhere on how to determine if it is a good bankruptcy lawyer??What questions to ask? Has anyone ever done BK Chapter 7 with a lawyer through phone only or it has to be in person? I know the advantages of dealing with an attorney face to face( geeze did any of you ever feel embarassed to have to admit to such financial folly??)

Chapter 7- the 341 is the only face to face meeting I need?

If others have any input regardinjg my situation, please chime in, I would surely appreciate it!