Need support & encouragement!

[r2106]

I am getting ready to "make the call" I keep seeing an ad in our local free paper for a law office that specializes in bankruptcies. I have known this might be coming. I just obtained a full-time job, but have gone many summers without a job due to the fact that I work in education and have had to work as a substitute for many years because it is very difficult to get a full-time teaching job in my area. I thought my new job would help turn things around, but I am afraid it is not enough and our financial situation just keeps getting worse. Any advice for "newbies" like me would be appreciated. First question is, if I cannot pay all of my bills, how do I pay an attorney?
I am scared.

[ecoastbound]

Well, first off, if your paying credit card bills, stop. Save that money for an attorney. Second, if your paying a mortgage, stop. Save that money for an attorney. If you want to keep your house you still can down the road. And there are a lot of attorneys that have payment plans. Don't go with the first one. Talk to several before committing. Good luck to you.

[sunshinepa]

First, welcome to this forum. One of the first things I can say is read, read and read some more on this board, it's a wealth of knowledge by some great people. Ask questions and read the sticky posts, it will help you understand BK much better than just seeing an attorney.

Ecoastbound is correct, stop paying the cards and put that money away for an attorney. Consult with several attorneys, it's generally free. I personally would not recommend stopping mortgage payments unless you are thinking of a CH 13 instead of a CH 7. Doing that if you are looking to file a CH 7 will just mean you have to get current quickly to file. It's difficult enough to save the attorney fees without having to make up payments.

Good luck and remember that almost everyone who considers BK is scared. This forum can be very helpful with both information and support so keep posting.

[OweTooMuch]

What everyone else said above and then turn your ringer down low (or off) and have it go right to an answering machine. Have another number relatives/employers can contact you on. Don't worry. It will be OK. If it gets real bad you can skip a mortgage payment depending upon the laws in your state and use that to pay your attorney. I did that and it is working out fine.

It is scary but it does get better. Keep reading all the posts on this forum and come back any time you have questions or need support. This forum is basically the Bankruptcy 101 manual so don't leave it all up to your attorney. Don't pick the cheapest attorney either as you do tend to get what you pay for. Arm yourself with knowledge from this forum and proceed forward .

[r2106]

Thanks! I was just looking at a website of a local attorney and it was quite overwhelming. Is there a "going rate" for bankruptcy?

[OweTooMuch]

In my neck of the woods it seemed to be $1800+ for a Chapter 7 plus $299 for filing fees and $3500+ for a Chapter 13 plus filing fees. I don't know the rates in Ohio.

If your case is a slam dunk you will probably pay less than a more intricate case. Try and ask around in your area or call around. Some do it as a sideline to their business and some do it as their sole line of business. Mine only does bankruptcies and seems to be knowledgeable.

[keepsmiling]

A warm welcome to you and you have come to the right place.

It's terrifying at first, but it will get easier. We all had butterflies when we missed our first cc payment. But it needs to be done, and you will be in good company.

First thing to do is get yourself a Google Voice number and go right now, while you still have access to your accounts online, and change your phone number to the GV one. The phone will start ringing off the hook with the very first missed payment and boy are they persistent. You will count your blessings to have this taken care of in advance.

Also, take a look around to see if you have your bank statements. If you will need to change banks (we had to due to owing on our overdraft account) you will want to print out statements as well, while you still had access.

As to going rate, you will probably find a wide variety. Here in NJ, where I am sure it's higher than by you, prices ranged from ~1800 to 3500 for Ch7. I'd suggest you read up here FIRST, then make some appointments for free consultations. They will surely put your mind at ease.

Good luck, hang in there, and keep reading and asking questions!

[discouraged]

And read the "stickeys". A very good one is Why reaffirming a mortgage is a very, very bad idea.

As everyone advised, check out different lawyers. The first one I saw had me scared to death and would not give me a 'fixed' rate, saying it depended on the circumstances, etc. The one I finally chose assured me that the rate would stay the same and walked me through the entire procedure and was always there with whatever question I had.

He wasn't the cheapest, (1750 +299 filing) but I didn't worry half as much as I could have.

[budgetgal]

Just wanted to say welcome and that it really does get better. Everyone has given great advice.

I missed my first CC payments the week I went to the attorney and they start calling within that first week. I filed by the end of that month, so the calls weren't mean, but they called my home and my cell 3 times a day. I just let it go to voicemail and kept my ringers off. I was really lucky they didn't have my work number on file. If they had been calling the switchboard at work that many times a day it would have been a problem. If they have a work number on file for you, go in and take that off right away.

I also printed statements from the CC's for this last year so far. They revoked my online access about 2 weeks after missing a payment, so I was glad I did that.

I didn't find this website until after I had filed, but I'm still learning so much and it is keeping me calm and informed every step of the way. I'm going to stick around through discharge and into rebuilding my credit because there is such a wealth of information on here.

Hang in there. Making that call and setting up that appointment with the lawyer was the most emotional step for me. Best of luck to you.

[ecoastbound]

I am in Florida and my chapter 7 was $1629 for everything. My neighbor used a different law firm and his was $1900 but his was slightly more complicated.

[NewPage]

Let me just ditto everyone else. Read read read and don't be afraid to ask questions. We are all at different spots on this path and there is almost guaranteed to be someone here who is in the same place as you in the thinking/filing process. We will hold your hand and give you a shoulder when you need it, and be here to cheer you on :-)

You can make it through, I promise.

[Drazil65]

Hi and welcome! We went to 3 different law offices back in June and July for our free consults. One was a bankruptcy (big) mill office where all you ever talk to is a paralegal and they call an attorney during the interview to consult an attorney (my advice is to stay away!), then 2 small firms that specialize in bankruptcy. We immediately felt comfortable with one of the two and he has been responding to our email questions for the last 3 months and we have not officially retained him (we have our appointment this Sat. October 1st to officially retain him and start the hardcore paperwork). My best advice is to preplan for this, read this site inside and out, one of the best things we were told int he beginning is to get Google Voice to have all the creditor phone calls directed to one place and you never have to hear them, its the best thing ever. We stopped paying all husbands credits cards (he is the only one filing chp 7) and also our out of state rental mortgage. We have kept paying our primary home mortgage (which was a loan mod and once we stopped paying all the CC we could afford the payment). Plan out when you will actually file, for us we knew we had to get some time between CC use (the last time he used one in particular was end of April so we wanted at least 6 months of no use) and actually filing. We are filing the end of October or by mid November at the latest. We have kept current on both car payments (2 older cars both in his name and no real value because of the loans attached to them) because we want to keep them BUT will not reaffirm the loans for them so hopefully the car companies will allow us to keep them. Also, with our primary mortgage we will stay and pay until our home sells (it is presently been on the market for 2 months, lots of lookers but no offer as of yet). Our attorney charges $1200, you can pay over 60 days but must be paid in full of course before you can file (otherwise you wipe out his fees with your bankruptcy filing as he becomes a creditor) and if you pay within 30 days he discounts the fee to $1000 plus filing fee. Call all of your creditors or go into your online accounts and change your phone number to your new google voice number as your contact number and although they will ring through your regular phone number it puts them into the computer google voice number and stores them all in one nice place, this has been a Godsend for us. Preplan out everything you can with your filing date as your goal, ask a ton of questions here (great people!) and you will see that it is not as bad as you think once you are in control of your filing. Good Luck!

[daylate]

A year ago or so the going rate in Central Ohio was around 1500-some added the 299 some it was included. I would think you should be able to land a good attorney in that range. Good luck.

[IamOld]

Good luck r2106 - there are MANY very smart and caring people here!

Get quite a few free consults, and definitely go with atty who is VERY familiar with BK, and you feel comfortable with...the only thing I'd say if you are going to be able to do a CH7 the mort keep paying. Credit cards - NO!!!! And yes, they will call all the time, but you'll learn to ignore!!!

[r2106]

Thanks, everyone! Please keep the support coming! I will look into the Google phone "thing"