CA Exemptions-

[Leftfield]

You filed Pro Se!!! Okay!

It's not that I'm getting too confident, it's just my case is simple. It doesn't take much to concluded that. There is nothing they can take from me; I can't give what I don't have.

Yes, I can mess up filling the paper work ...

Here's something the laywer and I argued about. Not much of an argument. It was more like a "recall" from my side.

I mentioned that I have an ERISA employer retirement plan and said that I should be fine. He interupted me by saying that the wild card should cover it! What? Should that be exempt? Any retirement plan qualified and governed by ERISA (employer retirement income security act 1974 (or something) is automatically exempted! He mumbled .. "yeah ..well..anyway ...yeah you can .."

I'm not trying to say that I'm better or more knowlagable. I just realized (long time ago) that the law can be interpreted in many ways and from judge to another. We actually read several sections and start arguing the extent of it's meaning and it's aplicability to my case.

BTH staci- I know you're interested in rebuilding your credit ( who doesn't) He handled me an article about rebuilding credit-actually, about purchasing a house after bankruptcy. Very useful. You've probably read it but I'll be posting it soon.

[bkfiler]

i changed my mind. i think you should file pro-se too. we agree.

[StaciMM]

Yes, I did because I could only find an incompetent attorney-he was bad! After I asked a few questions, to confirm what I had learned & make sure my interpretations were correct, he told me I knew about as much as he did. (He actually SAID that!) He also told my Dh that he had better never screw up, because if I put as much effort and time into researching divorce as I had bankruptcy, he would not stand a chance. (What else... He complained about paying $24,000 in taxes for 2004 while our total income for 2004 wasn't much more than that, and the office had every indication of a BK mill. Walk in, fill out a questionaire, spend a few minutes w/ an attorney, and do paperwork with a paralegal. Pay, sign, and you're done.) We didn't want to waste time trying to find one better as DH's check had started getting garnished. (Would have taken 1-2 weeks to get an appointment, I would lose time from a relatively new job, and there was no guarantee the next one would be any better.)

My concern w/ filing pro se now, as opposed to then, would be that there will be very little tolerance for mistakes on paperwork and there is more that must be submitted now. There are more steps along the way now, miss one and you slide back to the bottom. If you research alot, and make certain not to miss anything, you should be fine.

One mistake, though, and you're out nearly $300 for the filing fee and you've lost the automatic stay-w/ the possibility that you may not get it back.

You filed Pro Se!!! Okay!