Life after 341 Meeting??

[mystery]

I had my 341 last Tuesday. I filed no asset 7, Pro-Se. When can I borrow money again, own property,buy a car or whatever?? Some attorneys say that when you file, that stamped date is the official "date in time" if you will, where everything to that point is known as "then", and everything going forward is known as "now." I just don't know if I'm wasting time waiting for discharge, or can I begin my new life now??

Thanks in advance for any imput.

[bkfiler]

depends. love that word dont you? me too. attorneys use it all the time.

if you want no trouble from anyone then dont do anything until you get a discharge. but you probably dont need to get that strict.

just like you were told. anything you do after you file is stuff you cant get out of for 8 more years anyway.

however, most attorneys and people will tell you dont do anything until after the 341 and you see it reported as no asset, etc. then its pretty safe to assume that all is 'ok' and its time to move forward as far as credit cards and using your money and items that are exempt as you wish. cash and new credit cards are probably ok. selling a house, taking money out of a 401K or other things of that nature i might wait on those until you know for sure your situation is golden.

i did. i waited until my 341 was posted and then applied for a card. already have an orchard card and im thinking about whats next. used my cash to buy a another car already and have upped my insurance everywhere to protect myself.

[AAAArt]

Your "fresh start" begins the day you file, however I think that technically you are not to incur any new indebtedness during the process, at least until after the 341.
You're good to go now, unless you had a half million dollars under your mattress or something like that and wnat to deposit it in a lump sum in the bank.
I would suggest that you strongly think about why you want all of that debt again. Go slowly. One of our moderaters suggested a while back that you do not incur any new debt for 1 year so that you could develop and ingrain the habit of living off of cash. Still seems like pretty goood advice to me. Art

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Wait until your discharge. Then you may incur any new loan that you qualify for. Some companies will automatically decline you because of the bankruptcy, so you may want to ask them directly if they are ok with it, before applying and wasting an inquiry on your credit report. For the most part, your ability to loan money will be based on your credit score, which will improve quickly once you reestablish your credit and pay your bills on time.

My old roommate was discharged 3 years ago, he now has 2 houses-2 mortgages, a new car, and many credit cards.

[StaciMM]

I agree that this is good advice-though you have to determine for yourself how much time you need. We're all basically in the same place right now, but traveled different paths to get here. If credit cards were a big part of your BK, practice living without them for a while before trying to get them again. Otherwise, you'll end up dependant on credit again. On the other hand, if you haven't used credit in a long time and are in a good cycle of spending less than you make each month, you can possibly handle new credit in the near future.

When you do start down the 'reestablishment' path, go slow. Don't go applying for everything under the sun in the hope that one will approve you. Research to get an idea of which creditors are known for being 'bankruptcy friendly', and avoid those that are NOT.

I would suggest that you strongly think about why you want all of that debt again. Go slowly. One of our moderaters suggested a while back that you do not incur any new debt for 1 year so that you could develop and ingrain the habit of living off of cash. Still seems like pretty goood advice to me. Art

[mystery]

Life after 341 meeting?

Thanks to all for your imput. I'll be more specific on my question.

I did a quit claim deed to my wife for my interest in our home 15 months ago. I filed Chapter 7 in October, which was 13 months after the quit claim deed. The house was maxed out with two loans, no equity, when I did the transfer. During the time after I transfered the property to her, we've made many improvements to the property. Therefore, there could be some equity in the home, which my wife can get a new appraisal, apply for a new loan to pay off her credit cards,etc., with lower payments,interest,etc.

Therefore, she didn't file Chapter 7, I did. The house isn't mine, nor is the equity, nor is the debt. The Trustee and a Creditor at my 341 did ask when I transferred the home to my wife's name and gave the date. They both asked how much the home is worth, and how much debt is owed. They actually equal eachother, in other words, 100% LTV. They also asked why I transferred the property, I said we were having marriage problems.

Without dispute, would the Trustee, or the Creditor, rule that I transferred assets, to dodge creditors(Which I didn't) and reverse the transfer,force the sale of the home if there is any equity,etc??

I've been told by some that even though you're asked the question ".....during the LAST 12 MONTHS, have you transferred any property,sold,etc.... to anyone...." the trustee CAN go back as far as 6 YEARS if he/she wants if foul play is expected, which is not my case of why I did it. I HAD(not now) a huge gambling problem, and racked up the cards,took the cash from the bank account, everything.

To save our marriage, I took my name off every bank account and placed her in charge, took my name off the house since my wife bought it before we were married,etc.

Can she safely go about her life, borrow money on the home if she can,, etc., before I'm discharged????

Thanks guys/gals for any more great information you may have,similar cases,whatever!!!

What a great website.


THANKS TO ALL!!!!!!!

[StaciMM]

Since the house was mortgaged to the extreme, and was hers before you married, I would think she'd be ok. Wouldn't do the trustee much good if he couldn't make a profit off the sale. Even if he voided the transfer (assuming it was in both your names prior) then she would get half of the equity, there would be selling costs, you would get your exemption amount, and the mortgages would need to be paid off (not in that particular order) BEFORE there was a penny for the creditors or him.

On the other hand, give it a few weeks and see where its going. If the trustee marks your case as 'no assets' that would be a good sign.

[mystery]

Hey Staci,

Thanks for the info. If you want to be technical, she signed the purchase agreement before we were married. She closed with the title company and took possession 8 days after our marriage when we returned from our honeymoon. My name was never on the loan, but on the deed, per the bank's requirements. If there's, guessing, $60,000 worth of equity, I'm allowed $17,000 (?) exemption, is she allowed any exemptions if not filing, if she is $17,000, that leave's $16,000 equity to pay $400,000 in total discharge on my end by selling the house, pay the Realtor, are they going the force any sale at that position?? What to you think, you seem to be very knowledgeable??

Also, when I file chapter 7, is it automatically "no asset" or does the trustee have to mark my case " no asset" before discharge?? Does this show up on Pacer so I can check the status??

Thanks to all.

[bkfiler]

My old roommate was discharged 3 years ago, he now has 2 houses-2 mortgages, a new car, and many credit cards.

"...many new credit cards" statements makes me cringe now. i thank god im out of my mess

[StaciMM]

My understanding is that if you & her were on the deed, then you jointly own the equity. 1/2 hers, 1/2 yours. So if you had $60,000 in equity total, only $30,000 of that is part of your BK estate. About the selling fees, I don't know if those would only come out of your half or the total profit. (A good arguement would be she wasn't part of the BK so why should she give up any of her $30k but don't know if it works that way.) Worst case scenario, based on $60k and $17k exemption, is that $13k less selling costs would need to be paid to the trustee.

I believe the trustee would have to note your account as either no asset or asset. Don't think its 'innocent until proven guilty', LOL.