Thinking about filing. Questions about BK planning....

[matthewsmom]

Ok. I'm pretty sure I will be filing BK in the near future. Just not sure when. I have been current on everything, but I am literally robbing Peter to pay Paul. CC debt of $20K, mortgage, etc. I have student loans but understand those cannot be discharged. I also have a car I want to keep.

Can I just reaffirm on the car?

Do I just stop paying EVERYTHING if I want to 'give up/back' the house?? If I stop paying everything what do I do with my income every month until the BK is finished?

How do I find a good BK attorney?

Is there any way to keep creditors from calling & harrassing if I stop paying before filing BK??

Is there anything else I need to be doing to prepare for this???

HELP!

[GoingUnderInNV]

I'm maybe a week from officially filling with the Courts, so maybe I can help with some of the basics from my experience.

First, get several consultations from bankruptcy attorneys in your area. Ask around, check with an attorney referral service of your local Bar, or just pick some attorneys from a phone book, and get a free consult. They'll want basic numbers (amount owed, income, monthly expenses, property, assets, etc) to get an idea for where you're at and which Chapter you can file under. Put together ALL of your expenses for the last six months, and put them in a spreadsheet next to your income. If you don't keep track of things like filling up your gas tank, keeping shopping receipts, how many Starbuck's you have every week, start! All of the numbers are important FIRST so you have a real idea of where your money is going, and SECOND you'll need this info for your attorney.

My tact was to stop paying to two huge credit cards, and concentrate on getting the small stuff paid off. Keep your utilities current! As noted in another thread here, if you get behind and claim themm you're likely going to be hit with a huge deposit that you won't be able to afford after filing! Determine for yourself whether you can cut back on unnecessary expenses (that daily Starbucks, that Gold cable package with three premium channels, eating out every night, etc) and try to make ends meet, including trying to make a new payment arrangement with those bills that are causing trouble.

The biggest suggestion I'd give to anyone considering whether to file is first make sure in your own mind that you're in trouble, and then start getting together all of your paperwork for the last six months, including your last four years of tax returns. Even if your attorney doesn't want all this, it'll still be a good education for you to get a look at your income and expenses.

[BassBoy]

Is there any way to keep creditors from calling & harrassing if I stop paying before filing BK??

Not really. They'll call and call until you either have a)- retained an attorney or b)- filed your petition.

[JeepMom]

The best I could ever get them to do was extend the calls to two weeks in between.

[SinkingFast]

What to do with the money??

Save up to pay your attny. Go to the doctor or dentist. Get your eyes taken care of is you wear glasses/contacts. Buy medical/dental/life insurance. Pay your auto insurance premium if it will be coming due soon. Get clothes. Stock up your pantry and freezer. Take care of other types of necessities.

Watch out about paying off smaller CC type Creditors. You'll be asked who you've paid a total of $600 or more to in the last 90 days prior to filing. If you owe some to your doctor or whatnot, I'd suggest you pay them. Some doctors and hospitals can and will deny you treatment in the future if you don't pay and include them in BK.

[spongenotbob]

Ok. I'm pretty sure I will be filing BK in the near future. Just not sure when. I have been current on everything, but I am literally robbing Peter to pay Paul. CC debt of $20K, mortgage, etc. I have student loans but understand those cannot be discharged. I also have a car I want to keep.

Can I just reaffirm on the car?

Do I just stop paying EVERYTHING if I want to 'give up/back' the house?? If I stop paying everything what do I do with my income every month until the BK is finished?

How do I find a good BK attorney?

Is there any way to keep creditors from calling & harrassing if I stop paying before filing BK??

Is there anything else I need to be doing to prepare for this???

HELP!

Are you sure you want to file BK over $20K of CC bills? Remember it will cost you around 2.5K to file now. Not saying you shouldn't - but you're sort of in a gray area.

Do you have any equity in the house?

Otherwise, this forum will help you with everything you need. But you should still meet with 2-3 BK attorneys and don't hire one until you find a competent one!

Best of luck!

[matthewsmom]

well, 20K in CC and a house I cannot afford. Plus an ARM mortgage I cannot refi, so the whole situation is out of control..... No equity at all in the house. In fact, I would probably LOSE 3-4K PLUS realtor fees *IF* I were able to sell it.

[SinkingFast]

Are you sure you want to file BK over $20K of CC bills? Remember it will cost you around 2.5K to file now. Not saying you shouldn't - but you're sort of in a gray area.

Do you have any equity in the house?

Otherwise, this forum will help you with everything you need. But you should still meet with 2-3 BK attorneys and don't hire one until you find a competent one!

Best of luck!

$20K to one person may be not much in the way of debt. While $20K to someone else may feel like $20 million. Debt is relative. As has been said here many times before.

Plus, discharging responsibility for the debt of mortgages on a house in BK,............ That's priceless peace of mind right there.

[spongenotbob]

$20K to one person may be not much in the way of debt. While $20K to someone else may feel like $20 million. Debt is relative. As has been said here many times before.

Plus, discharging responsibility for the debt of mortgages on a house in BK,............ That's priceless peace of mind right there.

That is absolutely true. Actually $20K sounds like a lot to me now - though it is FAR less than I had before I filed. So given matthewsmom is upside down in the house (cannot sell it easily), maybe BK is indeed the right way to go.

Thanks for reining me in, SF

Matthewsmom - information is everything. The more you know the better this will go for you. I'd strongly recommend the NOLO book; read this forum until you can't stand it anymore; and find a very good, local attorney.

My personal advice for finding a good attorney: Go sit in on a number of 341 hearings in your district (they are public). The 10% of BK attorneys which are competent will shine through. Go meet with those attorneys.

Very best of luck.

[SinkingFast]

Also, check your BK Court's home web page for a list of Trustees.

Most Trustees are practicing BK attnys. Call and check to see which ones are Ch 7 and which are Ch 13. Trustees make great attnys as they have the inside track.

Take care not to Consult with them all. If you do, you'll taint the Trustee pool and your Court will have to pull in a Trustee from a different District.