New Here...

[schel]

Looking into CH 7. Did an over the phone interview with a "legal assistant?" Not sure what to call her. I have many questions...
We have signed nothing or met with anyone at this point yet.

1- If my cards are not maxed out yet, can I still use them until I meet with an attourney?

2- How does this affect tax returns?

3- We have American Family Ins. We live in Minnesota. Will our rates go up? Car Homeowners etc...

4- Could we take cash out on my Visa to put aside for attourney fees before I meet with an attourney?

5- We need car work done on a car about 500.00 we will have to put it on a credit card to pay. Can and should we do this before meeting with an attourney?

I am up here at 3:19 AM and have been for the last 2 hours because of the stress of all this and am so glad I found this forum to ask questions. I could never talk to my parents about this, my brother filed and they found out and to them they still love him but judge him because of what he did. I know, not fair!

Sure I will have lots more to ask.
Thank you for help and support!
Schel

[JRScott]

Looking into CH 7. Did an over the phone interview with a "legal assistant?" Not sure what to call her. I have many questions...
We have signed nothing or met with anyone at this point yet.

1- If my cards are not maxed out yet, can I still use them until I meet with an attourney?

It is generally best not to use them in the 90 days prior to filing for bankruptcy. However there has been success in using the card for typical living expenses within that time frame. The danger is in high ticket item or questionable purchases.

2- How does this affect tax returns?

Any debt discharged in a bankruptcy is not taxable.

(However if you settle with a credit card company you will get a 1099-C at the end of the year for the forgiven amount which is taxable.)

3- We have American Family Ins. We live in Minnesota. Will our rates go up? Car Homeowners etc...

So far my rates have not changed, I have Progressive. It is still early after my discharge so hopefully others will answer.

4- Could we take cash out on my Visa to put aside for attourney fees before I meet with an attourney?

You'll want to put at least 90 days between you and the cash advances. Be prepared also to show where the money went.

5- We need car work done on a car about 500.00 we will have to put it on a credit card to pay. Can and should we do this before meeting with an attourney?

Car maintanance is generally considered a normal living expense. However like I said above you'd want to put around 90 days from use to filing and make at least one or two payments on the card before filing if you can. Keep recents showing what the money went to. (Even if they objected to the 500 dollar charge and it was approved, you'd only owe for the 500 dollars)

I am up here at 3:19 AM and have been for the last 2 hours because of the stress of all this and am so glad I found this forum to ask questions. I could never talk to my parents about this, my brother filed and they found out and to them they still love him but judge him because of what he did. I know, not fair!

Sure I will have lots more to ask.
Thank you for help and support!
Schel

We all stressed out before the filing, it is normal

[Boscoe]

Schel - go talk to your attorney. I was a miserable mess for about 9 months until I finally talked to and retained an attorney. That was the turning point, and now I am hopefully only days away from my discharge.

It sounds like a line, I know, but it definitely gets better. But you need to take action to get there! You can do it, many of us did. Hopefully you can file by November and be done by February...........

[keepmine]

IMO, the day bk seems a vialbe option is the day you stop using your cards.
It sounds like you are still current. If you really intend to file, stop paying on all debt that will be discharged and use that money for car repairs and legal fees.
You also need to break yourself of the habit of using a credit card for day to day purchases and small emergencies. You need to develop a budget and live on what you make because, you can't depend on credit for some time post bk.
As Boscoe stated, it gets better fast. Most bk's are pretty routine. Do all in your power to keep yours routine and that means layoff the cards if at all possible.

[woeisme]

don't use the cards!

You are much more likely to get objections from creditors, and questions from the trustee if you use your credit cards right before filing. You can go a long time from when you stop making payments on the credit cards to when you file, anywhere from 6 months to a year if you are current, without your creditors taking legal action (varies from company to company, but the process it slow.) Sure, you'll have creditors calling you and trying to get you to pay up, but you'll also have the time to save up the $ to pay your lawyer instead of putting it on credit, and much less objections to your case so more likely of being confirmed if you break that credit card habit ASAP. Good luck!

[schel]

Thing is, we do not use the cards for anything else other than if we need groceries and can't afford them then we charge what we might need.
The thing I was wondering about is taking a cash advance before filing to pay the legal fees. I was quoted needing $1650.00 total to file.

Another thing...
My Husband is leary about doing this because of it following us and the after effects of BK. Any thoughts on that?
Schel

[BassBoy]

I believe the worst that can happen is that you would be responsible to pay the amount of the cash advance, meaning that the $1650 may not be dischargeable.

[guzzie]

welcome and good luck schel.......

[Bandit]

Looking into CH 7. Did an over the phone interview with a "legal assistant?" Not sure what to call her. I have many questions...
We have signed nothing or met with anyone at this point yet.

1- If my cards are not maxed out yet, can I still use them until I meet with an attourney?

Depends on what you charge & I would not max them out- Don't even think about that. Depends on how long before you intend on filing. I have a friend who is waiting to file & his attorney told him to get all the things he needs & come back in a couple of months. Things like getting his broken nose fixed, get health insurance & truck repairs. I feel a good attorney is going to see what you need & tell you to take care of certain things before retaining him.

2- How does this affect tax returns?

If you are current then nothing. If behind or not filed, they will find out then you just pay. If you want them discharged you have to meet five different requirements.

3- We have American Family Ins. We live in Minnesota. Will our rates go up? Car Homeowners etc...

Some do & some do not. I have United Auto and have been with them for over 10 years but have no idea how they react to it.
Since you mentioned that, I will sadly be charging my truck insurance next month because it is the law to have it & I have no other way to pay it right now.

4- Could we take cash out on my Visa to put aside for attourney fees before I meet with an attourney?

Maybe. If you make the minimum payment on that & wait six months to file. They view cash advances differently from swiping the card.
Maybe use that as a relief for something else that you really need & save for the attorney.
IOW- I would not borrow that cash & go hire an attorney the next day with it unless you plan on paying it back.
If I had no other choice, I would probably take 400 from 3 different cards & come up with the rest on my own.

5- We need car work done on a car about 500.00 we will have to put it on a credit card to pay. Can and should we do this before meeting with an attourney?

I did. I have not filed yet only because medical circumstances wont let me. I was not about to sit here like I dead duck & not use my cards for six months to a year before I can file, letting my truck go to waste when I have used them all along for emergencies, car repairs, medical problems & special promotions. I also charged four new tires because one of them kept losing air and another one picked up a huge screw in the side.
I lost about 6 weeks of wages where I ended up charging food & gas & borrowing for rent. It was not fun or funny either. I also cash advanced 2000 to pay my cousin back for the hospital deposit that he put down.

Then, my mom calls me saying she needs 1,800 to pay a lien on their land so they do not take it. I borrowed that & sent it directly to her bank. It gets deeper & deeper... I realized that I had always kept these cards for emergency & the emergency is here right now. Not next year, not last year, right now.

But, I am also paying it back as I go along.

This is not advice & I am not telling you what to do. I am only saying what I know I had to do based on my circumstances & my loved ones.

& so, If I have to pay some of it back, I really do not care at this point as I would have paid it back any way. Just getting the medical bills off my back will be good enough for me.

[Bandit]

We all stressed out before the filing, it is normal

It is normal, looking back at it any way...& we get more courage as we go along.

Three months ago I was pretty shell shocked.
Today I am like, "Whatever, whatever, whatever..."

Much thanks & appreciation to the people at BKForum along with my own research...I don't feel like I even need an attorney any more.

[schel]

Thanks everyone for your honest advise. We my hubby and I are going to wait at this point, because he is not in the right mind yet to do this and said he needs to think long and hard about this. I am ready to go ahead with it. I also had 2nd thoughts about it when I thought about it 6 months ago. I finally have accepted that we have got ourselves in a mess with CC bills, etc...
I am not sure if this would have ever gone this way, but back in 2002 I was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome and the Neurologist I had did not treat me as he should. Long story short after a long illness and never able to make it back to full time like I had worked before I got sick, I am only able to work about 24 - 30 hours a week. I suffer from much fatigue and residuals from the GBS. So basically our income was cut in half after summer of 2002 til now. I do think we will eventually file, but I need my hubby to be on the same page as me when we go through with it. We do not need any added stress on our marriage than we already have, so if it is a little wait, the debt is not going anywhere now is it?
I know that relief is in sight and after I KNOW that I will never spend this way again. I even am looking at getting into some kind of class that teaches you how to budget and be frugal with your money.
Well could go on and on, but got to get back to work.
Thanks again!
So glad I found this board.
Schel

[WantToBeDebtFre]

Have you checked out Dave Ramsey? I can't say that I agree with him on everything but I think overall he has a pretty good plan to get out of debt (or not get into debt to begin with!). I felt like it was too late for me to use his plan to get out of debt, but I plan on following it after my bankruptcy is discharged.

[schel]

Have you checked out Dave Ramsey? I can't say that I agree with him on everything but I think overall he has a pretty good plan to get out of debt (or not get into debt to begin with!). I felt like it was too late for me to use his plan to get out of debt, but I plan on following it after my bankruptcy is discharged.

Who is Dave Ramsey?
Schel