Filing Bankruptcy and meeting lawyer for the 1st time!

[ducksinarow]

I have an appt. with a lawyer that specializes in bankruptcy Monday morning and I am a nervous wreck.

My husband and I are filing, but he has to work so I am going alone to the consultation.

What all do I need to bring with me Monday? Should I pull a credit report?

Thanks in advance!

[ducksinarow]

Anyone have any advice for me?

[StaciMM]

Take a list of all creditors/debts, including things you expect to discharge and things you don't.

Take a copy of a recent check stub for each of you, info regarding prior year tax returns (they may not ask for the returns but will ask for how much income each year for '04 and '03), your photo ID & SS Card, a copy of your husband's ID & SS card. Also, if you have a mortgage, proof of insurance. You should probably also take a rough draft of your expenses.

Good luck!

I have an appt. with a lawyer that specializes in bankruptcy Monday morning and I am a nervous wreck.

My husband and I are filing, but he has to work so I am going alone to the consultation.

What all do I need to bring with me Monday? Should I pull a credit report?

Thanks in advance!

[StaciMM]

PS-Any questions you have, regarding property you own & exemptions, the process, etc. Write them down-you may not remember them all once you get there! And, trust your instincts-regarding the attorney that is. If the info they give doesn't make sense, or they don't seem interested in answering your questions, you're not committed. I would even suggest don't take your checkbook-if you give him a retainer and then change your mind, you don't get your money back. (Sorry to be so negative-the guy we met with was pathetic and that led me to decide to file on my own. I almost gave him a check that day figuring I had no other options-glad I didn't!)

[ducksinarow]

Thanks so much. I will get everything together this weekend.

Don't worry. I won't be writing him any checks, unless he wants one that will burn his hands.

[ducksinarow]

I ran a credit report online just now. What does charge off mean exactly? I know several have sold the accounts to other companies. Those companies are ruthless! They have started calling my father in law, who is old and disabled, and who has nothing to do with the accounts.

[StaciMM]

An account is usually 'charged off' if there are no payments for 6-9 months. At that point, the creditor doesn't expect to get much from it. So, in accounting terms, they're no longer counting it as an asset so take it as a loss for tax purposes. Then, if they do get a payment out of it, that payment would be counted as income when the time came.

You still owe it, and they'll still pursue it. Some creditors outsource their bad debts to collection agencies who try to collect on their behalf, others sell the accounts for a percentage of the balance.

If you see "CA" in any of these forums, that usually means collection agency and "OC" is original creditor. Took me a minute to figure those out!

Keep in mind everything may not show on your credit report, and different info may be on all 3. Go to annualcreditreport.com and you should be able to get free reports from all bureaus (and your husband can too) if you haven't already done it from there. You'll still want to list things you know you owe that aren't showing. For example, I had a few odd collection accounts for things other than credit cards that weren't on my report.

I ran a credit report online just now. What does charge off mean exactly? I know several have sold the accounts to other companies. Those companies are ruthless! They have started calling my father in law, who is old and disabled, and who has nothing to do with the accounts.