Scared

[Jess39]

Hi, new here and really scared. It looks like the company my husband works for will be getting bought out and more than likely this plant will be closed down.

We have horrid debt, took out loans and to many credit cards, "underwater on the house".

What ever job he gets next will not pay as much, so I have been researching bankruptcy options and such. Are we better off waiting for him to be "laid off" before we do this, or should we start something now?

I'm sitting here at 1:22 in the morning because my head is spinning with all of this and anxiety is through the roof.

[JRScott]

Depends really on his income. Since you are looking at a period of unemployment it might be best to wait til he finds another job if you can so that you have the means to support yourselves after the bk.

If he makes a lot of money now it would hurt him on the means test, so waiting til he establishes a lower income would also help to pass that portion of the qualification of the chapter 7.

[Jess39]

Yeah, he makes alot, bout 95,000 a year. That's why I was thinking it would be best to wait till he found a new job. Right now we are making all the bills, sadly check to check.

[WoodSprite]

Hi, new here and really scared. It looks like the company my husband works for will be getting bought out and more than likely this plant will be closed down.

We have horrid debt, took out loans and to many credit cards, "underwater on the house".

What ever job he gets next will not pay as much, so I have been researching bankruptcy options and such. Are we better off waiting for him to be "laid off" before we do this, or should we start something now?

I'm sitting here at 1:22 in the morning because my head is spinning with all of this and anxiety is through the roof.

Hey, Jess - welcome to the land of insomniacs. Everyone here knows exactly how you felt at 1:30 this morning, because we've all been there. You've found a wonderful source of information and support, and there are lots of us who wish we'd found it much earlier, as you have, because it could have saved us many expensive mistakes. Good for you for looking ahead.

JRScott's right - you'll be much better off to wait until after the plant closes, since they will essentially take a snapshot of your financial picture going six month back from the date you file, to determine your income. You want your income from all sources to be as low as possible during that six months. If you can manage to set aside a few thousand dollars for an attorney now, while the money's still coming in, you'll be glad later.

While you're at it, since you're up all night imagining the worst anyway, imagine yourselves living on unemployment for a few months or even a year, and revise your grocery list accordingly. While you can, get in the habit of picking up non-perishables - 50-lb sacks of rice, a couple jars of peanut butter, a few extra boxes of pasta every time you go.

Probably most importantly, familiarize yourself with the search function on this list, and pick up a copy of the Nolo book on how to file chapter 7. This book, together with the wealth of experience people here will happily share, will get you through this, whether or not you decide to use an attorney. There's a sticky about it here: http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...highlight=nolo and I seem to remember someone mentioning that there's a new edition due out right about now.

Oh...one more piece of crucial info: YOUR 401K IS EXEMPT in a bankruptcy filing. You can get all the way through this process and still have your retirement account, so don't touch it, especially to pay off creditors! That may be the number 1 "wish I'd known" on this board...it sure was for me.

Good luck, Jess, and try to get some rest.

[Jess39]

I think I got about three hours of sleep. LOL If he looses his job and we stop paying on cc and loans...and he finds another job quick enough...we should be fine paying for a lawyer.

I'm trying not to jump the gun on things, but the fact is what ever he gets now will be for quite a bit less considering the market we are in. When he took this job different companies were throwing money at you wanting you to come work for them, now there are fewer places to go and more people looking for work.

So I'm just trying to plan ahead as much as I can. Good idea on the nonperishables, I'll do that.