file now,or is it okay to wait

[starman59]

hi all
i am in a big mess i need to file for bk, i am in debt for about 50,000 in cc,and now, have no income and my savings is running out.moved back home with my parents; and no way of paying my bills, i have not payed my cc bills for 4 months now,and can;t afford to pay for a bankruptcy lawyer at this time. would it be okay to file bk in about 6 months from now,or is it better to get things started right away,not sure

[mb10240]

Have you had income in the past 6 months? If so, you need to run a "Means Test" (google it - nolo.com has a means test calculator) to see if you even qualify for a chapter 7. Otherwise, you will be paying your debts back over time in a Chapter 13 plan, even if you don't have any income.

[AngelinaCatHub]

You may be near a time when your CC's may attempt to sue you. It is a hassle and will cause you a little more expense and trouble. You have the time and no money so for a little bit of money, or "gift from Mom" get the Nolo press C7 book. Read it twice, and attempt to go pro se. Many here have done this and I would too with what I now know. You have a valuable resource here. US! Not legal advice but much success, and experiences with a lot of good advice.

You need to supply more info. Age, marital status (I assume you are single), occupation or job talent, expectations of what you wish to do with your life after bk, as you HAVE to have a way to support yourself eventually. The parents will only stand for so long, trust me, I'm a parent. 'Hub

[tcreegan]

Hi starman59,

Take the time from now to 1-6 months to go over the NOLO C7 book and find your courts Local Bankruptcy Rules (LBR or LOBR). Cross reference the LOBR with the NOLO forms and instructions. Anything you can't figure out, post your question here.

Good luck with your filing,

Tom in Colo

[LaurieM]

If you have no income they cannot garnish your pay. If you have no money in the bank, they cannot secure a judgment and then clean out your bank account (the exception to that would be if you owed the bank at which you do your banking money - that being the case they can take money out of your bank account w/o going through a court process because of the right of offset clause in most accounting operating terms). The only other thing a creditor could really do is attached a lien against any property you own (real estate, vehicles etc). If none of the above apply, sounds like you're uncollectible at the moment.

[keepmine]

Have you had income in the past 6 months? If so, you need to run a "Means Test" (google it - nolo.com has a means test calculator) to see if you even qualify for a chapter 7. Otherwise, you will be paying your debts back over time in a Chapter 13 plan, even if you don't have any income.

This post is not correct.
First of all, the means test is just step 1. You still have to fill out schedules I and J to determine if you have enough income to fund a Chapter 13.Then, there is the Chapter 13. A requirement to have a 13 confirmed is, the ability to meet the payment plan..

http://doney.net/bkcode/11usc1325.htm

(6) the debtor will be able to make all payments under the plan and to comply with the plan;

I'm of the opinion that you file when it'll do you the most good. After all, you still have to support yourself post bk. I'd wait and get some sort of safety net in place before filing. High on the list is a job with health insurance benefits. You don't want to file and 6 months later have a serious illiness or accident with huge medical debts and you already played the bk card.

[SunshineGal]

I agree with Laurie and Keepmine. You can only file once, might as well make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you start it. Yes, a judgment is a pain to deal with, and if you can avoid them, you're better off. But, IMO, you are better off with a judgment than filing a BK before your ready.

[Goteki45]

hi all
i am in a big mess i need to file for bk, i am in debt for about 50,000 in cc,and now, have no income and my savings is running out.moved back home with my parents; and no way of paying my bills, i have not payed my cc bills for 4 months now,and can;t afford to pay for a bankruptcy lawyer at this time. would it be okay to file bk in about 6 months from now,or is it better to get things started right away,not sure

Do you have unemployment? Could you borrow the money for a lawyer from your parents?