Can you Walk Away from Chapter 7?

[DaBeaver]

I filed pro se under the old law and now have an inheritance issue. It has not gone to probate yet. It is going to be a 1/6th share in a house that I will be sold at some point next year. I cannot exempt it according to a lawyer I consulted with, since I am not an owner. In my state you need to declare the homestead before filing anyway. But the lawyer was telling me if I get a dismissal I cannot file again for 8 years, which I believe was wrong. I may consult with another one.

My 341 meeting is about a month away. The inheritance is larger than my unsecured debt. I may want to try to have my BK dismissed and try to keep the creditors at bay until I receive the inheritance. I think I would be better off trying to settle the debts with he creditors than having the trustee do it for me. That would enable me to have enough for a down payment on a home down the road or to refile using a homestead exemption.

Should I just not show up for the Chapter 7? I could file a motion to dismiss? The inheritance could not be the reason. Anyone have this kind of experience?

[bkfiler]

i would actually go out and start talking to new attorneys again for advice.

i might be worried that if the reason why you quit the bk is entered into the system then the creditors might be more apt to go after it quicker, file suit against you quicker and put a lien on their judgement quicker.

depending on how much you owe and how long you havnt paid i wonder if setting up with minimal payments for awhile wouldnt put them off a bit.

[DaBeaver]

i would actually go out and start talking to new attorneys again for advice.

i might be worried that if the reason why you quit the bk is entered into the system then the creditors might be more apt to go after it quicker, file suit against you quicker and put a lien on their judgement quicker.

depending on how much you owe and how long you havnt paid i wonder if setting up with minimal payments for awhile wouldnt put them off a bit.

That is why I am thinking of just not showing up for the 341. That would be the reason for the discharge.

I do not think they can put a lein on a property that I do not own. It will be sold and the executor will distribute my share. As far as I know, my name will never be on the deed.

I am wondering if people who have been dismissed have found the creditors get more agressive after the dismissal as well. Will they all suddenly move to taking me to court?

[StaciMM]

If you do not attend the 341, your BK will be dismissed. The 8 year rule on filing again is for discharged bankruptcies. The one thing to be aware of-and I'm not sure of the full details-is that under the new law if you have a dismissed BK and refile, you may not get the automatic stay again.

If you were paying the filing fee in installments, not making all the payments would have the same end result.

[bkfiler]

consider that maybe the judge would order a motion to determin why you didnt show up. this probably doesnt happen much if they dont catch wind of it. but i have seen motions stating something about determining cause of dismissal. on the other hand i really didnt know why or what the motion was about and its a pure guess on my part.

regardless, find out the laws, speak to another attorney outside of your own and get your answers. you can do easy phone interviews and just ask them what if you file but then you end up having an inheritence, how do you deal with that, what happens if you just walk away from it etc.

the lien wouldn tbe on your house, it would be a judical lien coming from the civil lawsuits if the creditors went that route. remeber that if the bk is dismissed then they are going to wonder why i would think.

the lien carries over to anything they can get their hands on over time.

[DaBeaver]

consider that maybe the judge would order a motion to determin why you didnt show up. this probably doesnt happen much if they dont catch wind of it. but i have seen motions stating something about determining cause of dismissal. on the other hand i really didnt know why or what the motion was about and its a pure guess on my part.

Well, I am also under medical treatment for stress, anxiety and depression. I could always use that if a motion to determine cause of dismissal should come up or I choose to request a dismissal. But I do not know if that will work.

I do intend to talk to another attorney. The one I consulted with was a waste of time. He was a nice guy who said he was going to talk have a friend talk with a trustee about what is normally done in these cases. But he mentioned things about the law that I knew were wrong, like not being able to file for 8 years after a dismissal.

[Senior Citizen]

As the old saying goes "Don't count the chickens before they hatch." What if the house does not sell . Right now you have 1/6 of nothing. If it don't sell would you have to pay 1/6th of the taxes on the house?

[Genenco]

As the old saying goes "Don't count the chickens before they hatch." What if the house does not sell . Right now you have 1/6 of nothing. If it don't sell would you have to pay 1/6th of the taxes on the house?

I'd say that's spot on SC. Until the details are set, solid and good..I'd continue with the BK..

And for sure I'd change lawyers.

[DaBeaver]

I'd say that's spot on SC. Until the details are set, solid and good..I'd continue with the BK..

And for sure I'd change lawyers.

Well, the houses in my neighborhood are not staying on the market long. I know that can change next year, but I would not count on it. THough the details are not set, it is safe to say the house will be sold towards the middle of next year.

I have 3 1/2 weeks intil the 341. I will contact another lawyer. I just do not think I can exempt the inheritance.

[Genenco]

Maybe this answers it....????

Well, the houses in my neighborhood are not staying on the market long. I know that can change next year, but I would not count on it. THough the details are not set, it is safe to say the house will be sold towards the middle of next year.

I have 3 1/2 weeks intil the 341. I will contact another lawyer. I just do not think I can exempt the inheritance.

Well, re-readng the questions the trustee will ask, there's a sticking point...

Are you entitled to life insurance proceeds or an inheritance as a result of someone's death?
If yes: Please explain the details.

That CAN cause the petition to be "Halted" until sale of property and thus, the trutee CAN grab it and use it to settle the debts.

In addition, it would be perjury and well, you just don't want to go there though.

But your time frame of "Middle of next year" makes me ask "Do you have enough to keep the creditors at bay that long?"

If you can and without major stuggle, then yes, go ahead and wait. Plus, I'd simply NOT show up for the BK as after all, you said there's enough to wipe them out, I'd not worry what anyone would do.

Now this is just my opinion, consult with a lawyer of course.

[AAAArt]

In 1992 I filed and then decided just not to go through with it. I thought that was it and everything was cancelled.
What I now realize was that I simply did not show up for the 341 and the case was dismissed. I didn't know about the automatic stay or anything.
The creditors came at me strong after that. Not really the cc's, but the mortgage and car loan.
About 4 years later I got a copy of my credit report and found out that it was listed. I contacted the credit bureau in person (at that time they had an office in our town) and told them that I started to file, but changed my mind and did not file. Being able to speak to a real person, she just accepted that and took it off. The car, (which I borrowed money to pay off) was still listed as written off and the amount owed on it. I called a local branch of the bank and they gave me a number at the main branch in St. Louis...called them and w/in a week I received a letter from them with the corrections and they had notified the CRA's. I got lucky and things weht smoothly.
But the point of this rambling is the Bk will go on your credit report and prob. will stay there and some creditors did come after me. Art