Question About Filing

[sisterfunkhaus]

Yes, I'm posting again, so no need to point it out to me

Anyway, we have an appointment with an attorney tomorrow to see which chapter we should file, etc... Here is my question-
Can we retain an attorney and put all of our documents in with her but wait to file? I would like to wait to file until we are sued so that we can get my husband's summer school stipend in the distance. We also need some dental work done (MAJOR) and don't want to be stuck in a chapter 13 with no way to pay for this much needed dental work. I want to be ready to file at a moments notice but am not sure if I should retain an attorney and "be ready" or if we should hold off retaining an attorney until we are ready to file. We will be filing FOR SURE. We can't go on like this for much longer. I know that no one can make my decision for me, but maybe I could get some advice that will help.

[SinkingFast]

We retained our attny in March and filed in September. We were all ready to go on a moment's notice should anything happen, but still able to do things that needed to be done.

We were renting from the Landlord from Hell. Our attny advised we skip out early on the Lease and get moved before we file. If we'd filed BK, we couldn't have moved. Then we needed to establish expenses for the new rental, so that added a couple of extra months.

Because we waited to file, we were able to sell our house rather than have a Foreclosure on our Credit Reports.

Yes, you can get all ready legally with your attny and still wait. Take care of what you need to take care of. Use the money you've been sending to CC's to establish your Cash and Carry lifestyle. You may not even know what your expenses really are if you've used CC's to pay for groceries, and gasoline, and clothes, and such.

Definitely get prepped to go the long haul just in case you happen to have to file a Ch 13. Get your cars squared away. Make sure you have reliable transportation. Take care of medical/dental issues. Repairs to the house. Take care of any major necessities you can that you may not have money to deal with later.

[sisterfunkhaus]

Thanks! This is what I have "planned" but wasn't sure if attorneys would do that or not. Sounds like they do. I have everything filled out and ready to go. I am SO nervous about our appointment today. My stomach hurts and I feel sick to my stomach. Blah. You think I'd be excited to get this done b/c it's one more step to getting back on our feet.

[BassBoy]

That sick to your stomach feeling will be gone as soon as you leave the attorney's office. Believe me, you'll feel so much better after talking to him/her.

[SinkingFast]

Thanks! This is what I have "planned" but wasn't sure if attorneys would do that or not. Sounds like they do. I have everything filled out and ready to go. I am SO nervous about our appointment today. My stomach hurts and I feel sick to my stomach. Blah. You think I'd be excited to get this done b/c it's one more step to getting back on our feet.

I felt just like that every Consult we went to. The first one was bad and with each one, it got worse and worse. And not finding an attny made it all the more aweful.

I was sick to my stomach and numb when we met the attny we hired. Within minutes of chatting with him, I felt comfortable. At ease. We even joked a bit about different things. It was amazing!!

Our attny is like your favorite big old easy chair. Very lay-back and comfy to be with.

[sisterfunkhaus]

I just got back from my first consult and this attorney was really terrific. She was very funny and charming. She answered all of our questions and made me feel pretty confident. She said we could retain her first then wait to file until whenever we wanted. She said if they can't shoe horn us in now, that we can file 13 then convert to a 7 as soon as we get a good means test number. SHe even said she would try to get our student loans through as a priority debt. She said all they can do is say no. She also said she hasn't had much trouble in her district with them converting 7's to 13's.
She did advise us to wait for various reasons. She said if we get sued, we can hold them off for a while, then just keep hopping banks to keep our $$$ from being seized if need be.
She seemed a little perplexed by some of my concerns. She said the things I worry about just don't really happen here. That's what I get for obsessing endlessly about all of this. That's just me though.