Wanting Chapter 7

[RedToBlack]

I want to file chapter 7. I have over $60000 in student loan debt which I realize won't be discharged. But I also have another $50000 in various other debt (credit cards, broken leases, repossessed car). My mistakes started when I was 18 and they continue to follow and haunt me over 10 years later.

The fact is I have learned my lesson and I can't pay off all my debt and my student loans.

I don't qualify for chapter 7 with my current income and I've failed the means test. So right now my only option would be a chapter 13. I can't afford student loan payments and the chapter 13 payment. Plus I'm needing a new car or at least extensive repairs and that definitely wouldn't be possible financially with a 13.
I'm getting married later this year and I really don't want to take all my crappy debt into the marriage.

My fiancé and I are currently long distance and if I quit my job to move in with him I would then qualify for a chapter 7 within a month (I'm over the income limit by $2000). The lawyer I talked to advised me that it wouldn't be fraud since I have a real reason for quitting my job and moving rather than just doing it to qualify for chapter 7. My lawyer recommends a chapter 7 for me, but he said there's no way I would qualify in my current circumstances.

Financially I would be ok for a couple months without a job. Only payments I currently have are student loans, my phone, and liability insurance on my beater of a car.

I guess I'm just seeking advice from others who have gone through the bankruptcy process. Do I become jobless until my bankruptcy is discharged so that later I can then be in a better financial position? Do I go with a 13 and be strapped financially for 5 years? Please note I wouldn't be quitting my job just for bankruptcy I would be doing it so my fiancé and I could live together and stop being long distance.

[LadyInTheRed]

If it weren't for your debt problems, would you quit your job, without having another one lined up, to move in with your fiance? If so, I say go for it. But,be careful about letting the BK play any roll in the decision. Being voluntarily jobless can have lasting financial effects. You won't have to wait until after discharge to start a new job. All that is important is that you do not have a job on the day you file and that you pass the means test based on the 6 months income.

If you will be moving from one state to another and plan to file after you move, make sure you look into what state exemptions you would have to use and how long you would have to wait after you move to file BK in the new state.

While a Chap 7 is almost always preferable if you can qualify, don't be afraid of a Chap 13. Your student loans would likely go into deferment. You could buy a car before filing Chap 13 that would get you through your plan. The bulk of my plan payments went to pay off the car I bought a month before filing. But, don't make any major pre-BK purchase before discussing it with your attorney.

[BKAttyMI]

I too would encourage you not to be afraid of a Chapter 13. Oftentimes, you can purchase a car prior to filing a Chapter 13 and the majority of your payments can go towards the car.