Where to start!

[Patch]

I am married ,and we have 3 kids.
we have been struggling for a while financially,and this past couple of month have been very tough.
we can barely put food on the table after paying all of our debts.
I only once a day for the pat 3 months so my kids can eat(very good way to lose weight).and frankly I don't want to live like that anymore.
my husband is working but was laid off back in january for about 1 month.that is when we started to go down financially.
we have a mortgage ,2 car payments,loans and credit cards.
I have been late on some credit cards here and there....but alway caught back up.

I have decided that this month,I will only pay for the mortgage,the 2 cars,insurance ,and utilities.and one loan that is secured..
and we can live again.
but Am I making a mistake?
how long before I can file for bankrutpcy? do i need to wait ? do I go for credit counseling first or get in touch with an attorney?

also we would like to keep our home,and 2 vehicles.our home is old and needs lots of repairs.i don't think there is much of equity in it.but do not know if we can.
we purchased our 2 vehicles last year( july and november).

by the way,we live in alabama.
I just found this forum and don't feel alone anymore.
thanks to anyone who will help me.

[keepmine]

You do have to complete a CCCS course sometime within 180 days prior to filing. That's just a requirement of the bk reform act and no biggie.
You may start consulting with an attorney anytime you please. Most give free or low cost intial consultations.
You made no mistake in stopping payment on debts that will be discharged in bk.
What is your income and how much debt are you looking to discharge?

[samantha625]

Hi Patch!
I'm new here too, just a few posts. We went round and round before finally sending our papers to the attorney. But, the first step was contacting an attorney.
Don't stop eating! I think everyone here says pay the basic bills, put food on the table, first, then pay your debts! And, from what I'm reading, you want a little lapse in time between paying cc bills, then filing bk. (Correct me if I'm wrong anyone!)
Anwyay, welcome! Everyone here is friendly and helpful!

[Patch]

thanks.
for our income,it varies.
last year we made $75000 ,but that was out the norm.usually around $55000.I know the median income in our state for a family of 5 is about $69000.so if my husband doens't work anymore overtime we will be way under the median income.and physically he can't work anymore overtime.
for the debt ,I have to tally all of it,we owe $80,000 on our mortgage.loans and credit cards roughly:$25,000,2 vehicles combined: $45,000

I read a lot on this board,and I am not afraid of the calls from the bills collectors.we cancelled our home phone and only have cell phones.and most of them do not have those numbers..
this site is amazing and reassuring...

[Phillymanhere]

You really don't have to be afraid of the cc company calls. They call me seemingly every half-hour on my cell. I hear it, silence it and move on. You can't pay; you can't afford to pay. If that is indeed your situation, then you can stand firmly in it.

When I do talk to folks on the other end, they are polite. I calmly say, "I can't pay. I don't know when I will be able to pay." Or I say, "I am thinking about bankruptcy." ... And I get off the phone.

It's annoying to get the calls some. But it's not an annoying that in any way upsets my life. I turn off the phone sometimes. The callers are actually quite polite. We'll see if the debts move to a collection agency.

[justplaintired]

Welcome Patch! I know when we realized what we had to do it was a huge relief to find this site. We stopped using cards and paying cards back in Jan of '08. We are still waiting to file, it will be soon. We paid our attorney in Feb with our tax check. You need to meet with a few attorneys and find one that you feel confident with.

You'll find about ever answer you can come up with answered right here on this site. An attorney will know your states exemptions and can advise you best on that info.

It's a scary road, but getting out of this robbing peter to pay paul is no way to live. We now live on cash only. I make grocery lists and stick to them. We eat at McDonalds as a treat. We go to the creek with the kids for free entertainment, we go fishing in a friends pond, we find ways to have fun that don't cost us a dime. I am relearning what I already knew. Living on a budget is the only way to stay out of debt and it's an awesome feeling paying cash for things.

Good luck and again Welcome aboard!

[Dave C.]

Hi Patch, all of the replies before mine are correct. However, I do have one suggestion in your financial strife you may do better retaining a bankruptcy petition preparer. They will do the exact same function as an attorney for hundreds of dollars less. Remember eternities do not prepare your bankruptcy petition a paralegal does. Furthermore, an attorney is not needed or required at your 341 meeting. The trustee will swear you in once you are under oath the only person that can answer the trustee's questions is you. By paying an attorney you have managed to purchase a high-priced seat warm.

[leftyf]

Attorney is well worth the money...in my case, my attorney handled all UST inquiries and walked me through the whole process. I was a borderline 7/13 case, and my attorney got me the 7. I have no idea how, but it worked. Just make sure you totally understand your personal financials...your attorney will not want to become that familiar with your situation, most likely, so you'll want to double check all of the numbers. I suspect that is true with a petitioner/preparer also.
Good luck.

[JRScott]

With assets involved it is worth your time to speak to 3-4 local bankruptcy attorneys and see what they say about your situation.

For Bankruptcy purposes you take the income of the last 6 months and double it. That determines your income for filing, not what you made on your tax statement last year. (However you do need 3 years of tax returns too).

As for not paying the credit card companies don't worry about it. They'll start calling to harass you some, just get an answering machine, turn off the ringer and let it answer the calls. You can then return calls of those you want to and ignore the others. Make sure the answering machine clearly identifies you. It sometimes helps to call back the companies once a month or so just so you have contact (keeps them from calling friends/family/work).

When paying your bills. It is best to pay in this order: Food, Utilities, Mortgage, Insurance, Vehicle, Taxes, etc. Credit Cards should be paid last if at all.

It will take 180 days of nonpayment for them to charge off the accounts and sell to creditor collectors. It will take even longer before anyone pursues judgment in court. Took them 2 years to come after me.

If you need to file make sure to have no more than you can cover in exemptions in your bank accounts at the time .