I still have time and cash to pay off some creditors first, so I am wondering if I should do that - or would it even be legal. One of my creditors in the SBA (for $8K) for my purchase of personal effects (disaster loan), and I'm not sure if that would be secured by the personal effects or not. There are 2 credit card accounts at "nice" institutions that I would rather pay off then the other jerks, and actually like to keep those credit cards to use after BK (I did not go into debt because I am a frivilous spender, but rather because of Hurricane Katrina related expenses, some bad moves in the stock market, and simply living without any work income for many years.)
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The main question is when do you plan to file? If you plan to file within the next six months, forget it. The minimum lookback period is six months--some say 90 days, but most is 6 months or 180 days. And if a trustee thinks or suspects, or otherwise gets wind of something going on in the background, the lookback can be one year or more.
One member is waiting out a two year period before she can file, simply because of something her father did with a bank account she owned jointly with him.
Unfortunately, the BK law does not let you pay some creditors because they are 'nice' and not others because they are 'jerks'. It is you pay something to all, or nothing to all.
The money you have right now, you would be best served saving into an emergency fund, and buying store-able groceries and commodities like soaps, shampoos, toothpast, toothbrushes, paper towels, toilet paper, etc."To go bravely forward is to invite a miracle."
"Worry is the darkroom where negatives are formed." -
If I had to wait out a 2 year period, could I keep my assets just to live off of (e.g., paying the rent and putting food in my belly, etc.) I could stop the payments to my creditors - I don't have to pay them in this situation.
What happened that member and her father?
I can't buy such things because I am homeless and have basically everything in my car.Last edited by swampwiz; 10-07-2009, 11:00 PM.Comment
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That depends on what the assets are and where you are located. You said you are a Katrina victim, but that doesn't say what state you are currently in. If you have been moving around, there is a residency requirement that differs from state to state. There are also exemption issues that differ from state to state."To go bravely forward is to invite a miracle."
"Worry is the darkroom where negatives are formed."Comment
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Well, I have a homesite in Louisiana that was purchased with credit card advances, and I eventually received a grant to rebuild which was over the amount for the homesite. I had been a continuous Louisiana resident for 16 years before Katrina, and then lived in Louisiana again after Katrina for about 12 months total. The only other place that would come close would be Colorado, where I lived for about 11 months total. I lived at other places for only 3 months or so total, or out of the country.
I had never given up my Louisiana driver's license (currently it is the address of the homesite - or what would be the home there), license plate or voting registration, etc., so I would think that I definitely would qualify as a Louisiana resident. As I stated the homesite is in Louisiana, and my official address of record with the brokerage where my liquid assets are is also Louisiana. However, I do have stuff in storage in other states.Comment
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Swampwiz...some of your postings are contradictory to other things you state in your postings as to your situation and you have numerous postings as to various issues. In whatever state you are "residing" in right now, you should obtain a free consultation with a BK attorney to find out exactly what you need to do and should do as you appear to have a complicated situation that goes a bit beyond a regular filing. Where are you receiving mail? For what state do you file state tax returns? What is the address you list on your federal tax returns? Before you make any more moves as to "investing" or making plans as to your 401(k), you need some legal advice to point you in the right direction. Since you state you are a Katrina survivor, I would a;sp surely look into any legal representation that may be offerred victims as to property loss and filing bankruptcy. Best of luck to you._________________________________________
Filed 5 Year Chapter 13: April 2002
Early Buy-Out: April 2006
Discharge: August 2006
"A credit card is a snake in your pocket"Comment
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Even zero balance cards will be canceled 99% of the time. A few store cards might sneak through but every major credit card will get canceled most likely.7-2-2009 Filed
8-28-09 341 Concluded, no assets
10-28-09 DISCHARGED/CLOSED!!!!
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OK, I am going to explain myself here. I used to own a home in Louisiana that got totally flooded in Katrina. I had insurance which paid off part of the note.Originally posted by Flamingo View Post
From the time of Katrina to about April 2008 I bought about $34K in replacement items (I have the receipts) that I was expecting to eventually get an SBA loan for (it would require that I get the home loan with the SBA.)
In Dec 2007, I did some big cash advances to buy a homesite for a replacement home in Louisiana ($36K.) I paid by check to some people to do things concerning building my home (e.g., clearing the lot, putting in a culvert, hiring an architect, etc.), for a total of $4K or so, all by check.
In Oct 2008, I got a $112K grant from Louisiana which paid off the rest of the note, and left me with $63K in cash, which I paid off a bunch of credit cards and some of the items I had purchased on layaway, and then basically turned around and did cash advances of about $29K which I plowed back into the stock market.
Up until Mar 2009 or so, I have done about an additional $12K or so in cash advances (or line of credit advances) which basically went into living expenses and paying the minimum payments for the debts. Typically I would use some of that cash advance to pay down one of my credit cards which I then used to pay the rent at a hotel.
Starting in April 2009, I ran out of the ability to get cash advances, so I started to sell my mutual fund shares to live on and paying the minimum payments for the debts. At that time, I was living at a hotel that cost $170/week, and once I ran out of available credit, I started bleeding off cash from my savings account that I had jointly with my mother (she was periodically putting cash into it), and I would typically deposit money back into the account to make up for the amount that I had taken out (I ended up taking more out than I had put in.) That was supposed to be her gift to me to buy furniture when I had finished building my replacement home (she wanted to keep it a secret from the rest of the family, so the idea was to build it up quietly.)
As for my rent, up until Aug 2008, all my rent was paid via check. From Aug 2008 to April 2009, I rented a room from someone on Craigslist and just paid cash. From April 2009 until about July 2009, I paid for a hotel with a credit card, and then after that, by cash (I have those receipts.) I paid for restaurants and groceries mainly in cash, but sometimes by credit card.
Now when I say cash advances, it was quite rare that I walked into a bank and walked out with more than $700 or so in cash. Most of these advances were balance transfers. One thing I would do is do a balance transfer to one of my credit card accounts that would show up as a big credit, and then transfer that to my checking account, and then write checks from there.
As for where I was living since Katrina:
- I was abroad when Katrina hit, and went back abroad for 6 months in 2006
- every winter I was in either in Colorado (3 seasons) or Washington or Oregon (1 season)
- I was in Louisiana for most of the non-winter in 2007, and for a few months in 2008
- I was in Illinois for a few months in 2008
- For 2009 after April, I bounced around a few places - a week here, a week there, in Kentucky and Ohio for a few weeks, then Texas, until I got the place that I spent the summer in Texas
- currently, right now for a few weeks, I have been staying with my sister in Tennessee; I also have stayed with my sister for a week here, and a week there
Except for the 2005 tax return, I have used my Louisiana PO Box for my tax return, and have filed only in Louisiana. (I think I did not file in 2008, but I can never reach anyone on the telephone about it - not that it would matter since I only had about $3K income that year.) For 2005, the post office was out of commission, so I used my sister's address in Tennessee for the state (Louisiana) and federal return.
I currently have a PO Box in Louisiana (although I usually only pick the mail once every 6 months or so.) The reason I have been bouncing around is that I like to live in a winter sports area during the winter. During the non-winter, as I would be seriously looking for work, I wanted only a short term place so I would not have dead money (in my field I always have to go to where a client wants to hire me, so I have to be able to stay mobile.) In 2009, I had been looking for a room to rent on Craigslist in all those places, but could not find one that was suitable and short-term.
*** I think I have the ability to claim Louisiana as my main place of residence. What do you think?Last edited by swampwiz; 10-08-2009, 02:52 PM.Comment
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