Advice Please

[momof3inSD]

I posted on another thread and didn't hear anything. My hubby went to a lawyer today and he said we should be able to file chapter 7. My questions are we are supposed to make a list of household property how specific is that what do we list everything or what. We are also renting our house and we were supposed to purchase it when our other house sells but we will forclose on it, so we aren't sure if our landlord will kick us out or if we should wait a little longer and move into an apartment in town to finish out the school year. We live in a small town so I guess Im worried about my kids getting picked on cause their parents can't pay their bills. Please any words of support or encouragment would be greatly apreciated, this whole thing is like a nightmare.

[b_girl]

You should list anything which the trustee would consider an asset...this includes large as well as small items such as jewelry, collectibles, furniture, appliances, misc vehicles/tools, etc. If you're listing a value, don't over or under state it...usually garage sale/flea market prices are accepted.

As for your rental, that appears to be a personal decision...just keep in mind that your expenses will affect your BK status. For example, when we wanted to let one of our vehicles go back, we made sure losing that payment would not affect our case and throw us into a Ch. 13 (it didn't).

Good luck.

[momof3inSD]

I have a few more questions.

We took money out of our bank account (the one that takes our mortgage out) we then put it in our other account do we put all of our money in that account or just enough to pay our bills?

We haven't filed yet we need to come up with the filing fee, so we could go a few months not paying our bills before we file is that normal?

I'm home all day so I'll be the lucky one getting the phone calls, do I say we are filling or in the process and then give them the lawyers info?

We have 2 vehicles I think we could just get away with one is it our choice which one we want to get rid of?

Thanks for all the support this site is great.

[Andyman]

I'm home all day so I'll be the lucky one getting the phone calls, do I say we are filling or in the process and then give them the lawyers info?

My attorney said to say just this and nothing more. "If you have any questions about my financial situation and this account, please call my attorney at (and then the phone number). You do not have to say anything more other than repeat the exact same thing...well, you could say at the end, "Have a nice day"!

[b_girl]

Have you retained a lawyer? If so, you should be able to refer your creditors/CAs to his/her office.

As for not paying your bills..which ones are you talking about? It's normal to stop paying the CCs first, especially if it will be a few months before you're filing. Secured loans should be paid until shortly before you file to prevent foreclosure/repos, especially vehicle loans. After the second missed auto payment, you are fair game for a repo.

For example, we met with our attorney in Oct 07 and retained him at that time. We stopped paying unsecured debt immediately. In April 08 we stopped paying on one vehicle and one house. We kept paying on the other house and vehicle because we planned to keep them. In early June we filed and the automatic stay went into effect. Nothing has been repo'd or foreclosed as of yet.

[momof3inSD]

Have you retained a lawyer? If so, you should be able to refer your creditors/CAs to his/her office.

As for not paying your bills..which ones are you talking about? It's normal to stop paying the CCs first, especially if it will be a few months before you're filing. Secured loans should be paid until shortly before you file to prevent foreclosure/repos, especially vehicle loans. After the second missed auto payment, you are fair game for a repo.

For example, we met with our attorney in Oct 07 and retained him at that time. We stopped paying unsecured debt immediately. In April 08 we stopped paying on one vehicle and one house. We kept paying on the other house and vehicle because we planned to keep them. In early June we filed and the automatic stay went into effect. Nothing has been repo'd or foreclosed as of yet.

The lawyer told us to stop the cc the mortgage on the house we don't live in and the primeier lines. We are renting the house we are living now we were supposed to buy it but when we file our contract will go away so we are wondering if we will get the boot or if he'll let us rent it till the end of the school year.

My hubby did sign papers with this attorney that we will use him once we get the money gathered up and his paralegal did tell us to tell the collectors we are filling.

[b_girl]

Sounds like you are good to go..stop paying and refer them on to your attorney. Good luck!

[momof3inSD]

Sounds like you are good to go..stop paying and refer them on to your attorney. Good luck!

Thank you so much. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

[momof3inSD]

Is the trustee a person assigned by the court or your lawyer?

What exactly do they do?

[keepmine]

The trustee is assigned by the court. Their job is to represent the interests of your creditors.

[b_girl]

The trustee is the court official you will meet with at your 341 meeting of the creditors. He/she has the responsibility of going through your assets/debts, ensuring that you qualify for discharge and that you are not committing fraud/abuse, and combing through your assets to establish whether you have any which can be used to satisfy your creditors.

[momof3inSD]

I have an in home daycare, so do I need to photo copy all my reciepts or can I just print out all the invoices. If anyone knows an easier way I'm up for that.

[momof3inSD]

We have renters in our house, do we wait till we file before we tell them?

Do we still accept rent even if we aren't paying our house payment?

Thanks in advance for all the good advice

[b_girl]

Do they print bankruptcies in the paper in your area? If they do, better tell them sooner rather than later. As for accepting rent, it's not kosher...however, you are still the owner and you will still have expenses/responsibilities for the property, even though you aren't paying the mortgage. You might ask your attorney about how to best handle this.

[momof3inSD]

Yes ,they do print them in the paper but, we do live in a different state than where our house is. I told my hubby he needs to call our lawyer and ask her too.


What is a 341?