Residency Requirement

[MomIcantFindmy]

My husband and I spoke with an attorney today who proposed we file chapter 13 and he would charge us $6000. We are close to being able to file a chap 7. We interviewing other attorneys in our area because we felt this guy did not care, charged too much and rushed us.

One question we did not get answered.
My husband retired from the military in March and has been a resident of Washington State during his 22 years in the military. We have lived in Florida for 2.5 years (he as a non-resident). Even all of our cars are registered in Washington. Which state do we file? The exemptions are better, as well as the median income in Washington for our circumstances and filing a chapter 7.

[nc73]

LOL 6000 that's funny!

[danaf]

6000 for a 13 is outrageous! Good thing you walked away from that jerk. Glad you found this site. There's a lot of great info on here.

It would seem to me that if your husband has been technically a resident of WA state - then he should be able to file there. It's an interesting question and one I've not seen come up in the time I've been a member here. One of the moderators should be able to answer more clearly. Also, consultations are free - so consult some more attorneys.

[SinkingFast]

As others have said,......... $6K is way too much. Even if your case is a bit complicated by the residency issue.

As far as which Exemptions to use,.......... There is another alternative.

When you don't qualify to use any one State's Exemptions for some reason,.............. Such as you being in the military/an official resident of one State while living in another State,............ You could possibly qualify to use Federal Exemptions.

Something to ask attnys as you Consult around.

Do call around and schedule several more Consults. You get to meet and greet to help you find the person you're comfortable working with. You'll get different perspectives on your unique situation too.

[MomIcantFindmy]

I wondered about the Federal Exemptions. Apparently they are not an option for Florida residents.....but if we are Washington residents...maybe? If the lawyer determines he is a Washington resident for purposes of BK then will he have to fly to Washington for the creditors meeting? That could be VERY expensive.

[SinkingFast]

The State doesn't have to be one that allows Federal Exemptions. It was a modification to the BK Code made shortly after the it was signed into Law.

Congress and the Courts recognize that some people, for what ever reason, may not be eligible to use either State's Exemptions. In those cases, the Debtor is allowed to go with Federal Exemptions regardless of State Statutes or meeting Residency Requirements.

This is an alternative you may want to discuss with attnys as you Consult around.

[ameliabedilia]

You don't have to file in the state that you are using exemptions in. Where you file is based on where you have lived for the past 180 days (I think), but the exemptions you use are based on where you resided 2 years before the filing date. Definitely check into federal exemptions, from what I understand they can be much more generous.

[sandhall]

we are residents of alabama but filed in SC we had to use the state that we lived in past two years and those were the exemption that we had to use. my hubby is military (retired) now but we still had to use SC because we lived here 2 yrs 2 months