how many months can i file BK after stoped using credit cards???

[monk]

how many months can i file BK after stoped using credit cards??? or can i use it even a month before filing???

[JRScott]

Many lawyers like for you to wait at least 6 months if you can. However depending on what the charges were for you could use them up til filing almost.

[Phillymanhere]

Monk,

You have to give us a lot more details before anyone can answer that question. Just a little background: the law in this area (and in many areas) isn't a "you can't do x ever." ... It's more like you can't do x 90 percent of the time, but there are some situations where you can do X and not get penalized.

If you're charging groceries, that's one thing. If you're charging trips overseas for vacations, that's another thing. If you're getting cash advances, that's an entirely different thing still.

So to give you a good answer, we need to know what you think you will be using your credit cards for, the amounts, your overall situation.

By the way, if you give us the basics of your situation, people can probably guide you better. By the way, what most people do is listen to the advice of their lawyer on this stuff. And the lawyer will look at your individual situation and consider his particular legal district and how they interpret things, and then he'll guide you based on that.

[monk]

I use this card to pay 4 fuel on my business truck, I am not sure if I can still use it or not.
I am self employed and I got sole propeirship business

[JRScott]

So long as it was a normal gas purchase they are unlikely to challenge. You could wait around 3 months and file to be sure. Just don't use the card anymore . Ask your lawyer and he may have a plan that can let you file sooner though most like the 90 days at the very least.

[monk]

i use about $1000 a week

[JRScott]

Oh well keep the fuel receipts.

Can you operate without the credit card?

Can you perhaps get your boss/company to get a business card for you to use?

I'd probably wait at least the 90 days though to file.

[Flamingo]

You need to know that the problem here is a fraud issue knowing you are using the card and planning to file BK. $1,000 a week is $4,000 a month and that will add up quickly in the several weeks prior to filing and does not look good at all. Since you are self employed and appear to be using a personal credit card for your purchases, you have a real issue as to many others in your position so I would see an attorney for a BK consultation before you run up any more high gas charges prior to filing if you have no other source of income to purchase gas. The best thing is to stop now and wait 3 months before you file and save all receipts up to that stopping point for your purchases.

[diviaruba]

If as a sole proprietorship you do not have the cash flow to meet your current expenditures, or the liquid assets as retained earnings to tide you over, you are insolvent. This would most assuredly have the potential to draw an objection to the use of the cards as fraudulent and non-dischargeable, even outside of the statutory presumption of non-dischargeability periods.

[goingout]

diva, can you explain using plainer speak. Are you saying that if he doesn't have cash to pay for gas then it is considered fraud to charge it, regardless of the time period from the last charge to filing?

Would this be frowed upon even though the business needs the gas to operate?

If he charges and pays the charges off every month, would that be ok?

OP, is there no other way to pay for the gas?

[Flamingo]

If one charges items knowing those funds will not be paid back and then files for bankruptcy, that is fraud. The new BK law that went into effect 10/05 was highly geared around eliminating fraud in BK and that is why certain requirements are in place now and also time periods extended to catch filers who resort to that practice.

As Diva states, if the OP is relying on credit cards to keep his business going and has no other means to pay for gasoline, his business is insolvent and not producing a profit. It would be to the OP's best interests to consult with a BK attorney because if what he is doing continues, not only will the gas charges continue to accrue but so will interest charges or late charges if bills are not paid. Eventually the credit will run out and there will be no credit for gas. And he will be faced with a ton of explanations as to doing all that while being insolvent and charging gas knowing he cannot pay it back.

You need to put yourself in the creditor's situation on this one. Then the fraud aspect is a little more easier to understand.

[goingout]

Sure, I'm thinking too that there are some businesses which run up debt throughout a month and then pay off that debt the next month when they recieve payments from thier customers. Of course if they do not recieve enough in payments, they have a problem. I was just thinking maybe this is what the OP is doing. He didn't say if he was paying off the gas monthly or if the balance was accumulating.

[Flamingo]

Sure, I'm thinking too that there are some businesses which run up debt throughout a month and then pay off that debt the next month when they recieve payments from thier customers. Of course if they do not recieve enough in payments, they have a problem. I was just thinking maybe this is what the OP is doing. He didn't say if he was paying off the gas monthly or if the balance was accumulating.

Absolutely they do but in this situation, read the title the OP used for this thread. I think it's pretty obvious as to the intent and he should be careful.