Catchmeifyoucan,
So then I'm assuming from your posts that we don't have to list every single thing that we own. I wasn't sure if we listed every piece of furniture or not, like beds, blanket chests, desk...Btw, do we just estimate ourselves how much we think each thing would sell for? For example, our computer is either 3 or 4 years old. We probably paid about $1000-$1200 for it new, but I have no idea what it would sell for nowadays. I sure would miss this computer if we had to give it up, and I know we couldn't afford to get a new one. If we'd only get to keep a few things, of course, I'd choose the refrigerator and the stove. If I lose my car, it's no big loss since it's 13 years old and I'm not working at the moment anyway; however, not having a car would keep me from getting a job.
Could my husband have his name taken off of the certificate of deposit, as someone else suggested he do? I would feel better if it were in her name only. No, we didn't cash it out; it's in the bank.
How do I find out the amount for cost of living? You said, "Find out what the IRS gives families like yours as far as the cost of living, and try to figure out what you actually pay - get it as close as you can to the standards as possible. They don't ask for receipts, etc. But if you are not realistic and you go over than what the IRS allows, than they might. So play with it (know what i mean)"
Now I kind of wish my husband wouldn't have cashed out his $18,000 pension (well, he's getting it in monthly sums of $450 or something like that). He had cashed it out a couple months ago so we were able to start paying again to the company that was doing the negotiating for us. Which by the way, they must have given our UNLISTED phone number to our creditors now that we've told them to turn over any remaining money in our account to us. Just today we got a call from a collection agency, and I assume that they somehow found out our phone number from that company that we had been sending monthly payments to.
I'm sorry to hear about your gambling. I guess each of us gets ourselves in over our heads for different reasons. Well, hopefully you at least had fun at the time. We had fun at the time we were spending money. I'm just not so sure it was worth all this though.
Exactly what determines if a family falls under chapter 13? Is it the household income? Like I just said in my other post, my husband spoke to another lawyer today and he said that since we don't have an income of $58,000, we would have to go with Chapter 7. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.
Yes, we did get out of the debt management program. We'll end up with $1500 (approx) and they will get almost twice that. That was a learning experience. We'd have been way better off if we'd have just filed last year like our son suggested to us, but we thought we knew best. I wanted to do what I thought was the right thing and try to pay the credit card people by having this company negotiate down our debts for us, but that was a mistake. We learn from our mistakes. I wouldn't do that again. I see no need to do that again because we won't get into the credit card game again!
Btw, our son moved to VA and likes it very much down there. He's also single. So just so I understand this, will you get to keep your car through the bankruptcy? I mean you personally. Are you filing under 7 or 13?
If we like the lawyer who we'll be meeting with in 2 weeks, then we'll go with him probably. I really didn't like that $4000 quote that the other one gave us. Well, actually to be exact I think it was $3850, but still too much, if you ask me.
Yes, that was our understanding too, that my husband will still have to pay back his $20,000 in college loans, but well, there was another lesson. Of course, he had not way of knowing when he was there that it would lead to a dead end. Looking back, though, it basically was a waste of money because he won't ever get a job in that field anyway since he has a criminal record (worked at a prison and was set up, drugs found in his possession, arrested, turned down by public defender, had to pay lawyer $3000 and couldn't afford any more to take it to court so took plea bargain and is paying back $700 to the county and is on a year's probation). That alone has turned our lives upside down for almost a year, and I'm at least glad that's over with except now it will be on his record till age 70. I guess that plus this bankruptcy thing was just too much to deal with at once.
So right off the bat he has to set aside $100/mo for his fines from that sentence, and he has a $300/mo car payment and $160/mo student loan payment. That's almost half of what he makes a month. So I hope the court doesn't take away his $400/mo pension payment because we've been using that so we can pay all our monthly bills.
Where can a person go to see a Kelly Blue book to see the value of our cars? Mine is paid off but his isn't. Would that make any difference? His care is really his car until he has it paid off, I guess, but you still have to list it? So you could get a new car even though you were/are going through bankruptcy? They knew that and didn't have a problem with it then, I guess. Well, I guess that's good. A person almost needs a car in our society. If we'd have a railway system like in Europe (not that I was ever there or ever will be there, I just know about it), we wouldn't necessarily need to own cars.
I don't think we'd be able to say that we pay rent because my mom is the type who just can't do anything underhanded. She's like a saint, not ever doing anything wrong, so I couldn't ask her to say that we pay rent when we don't. Besides, if the court would ask them for past checks from us for rent, there wouldn't be any. I know the papers said if we're lying about anything, the bankruptcy would be dismissed, just like you said. I still wonder if some people don't ask relatives or friends to put things in storage for them. We actually have so little income that if we'd have a rent payment yet, then the courts would wonder for sure how the heck we're getting all our bills paid.
My husband just found out from this new lawyer that everyone is entitled to one free credit report a year, yet the other lawyer didn't mention that to us. Here my husband went and paid for one! I wish he hadn't done that but what's done is done. I'm glad that the courts don't look at your credit report because wow, all those credit cards that are in our history. Even though most of them are closed out, I still don't think it would look too good seeing 30 some credit cards listed on the report. We closed all of them except for 7 of them. 6 of them are credit cards that we turned over to that company, and one is one that we're paying on yet and have it down to about $140, so we'll manage to get that one paid off in a few months.
thanks for all the advice!
So then I'm assuming from your posts that we don't have to list every single thing that we own. I wasn't sure if we listed every piece of furniture or not, like beds, blanket chests, desk...Btw, do we just estimate ourselves how much we think each thing would sell for? For example, our computer is either 3 or 4 years old. We probably paid about $1000-$1200 for it new, but I have no idea what it would sell for nowadays. I sure would miss this computer if we had to give it up, and I know we couldn't afford to get a new one. If we'd only get to keep a few things, of course, I'd choose the refrigerator and the stove. If I lose my car, it's no big loss since it's 13 years old and I'm not working at the moment anyway; however, not having a car would keep me from getting a job.
Could my husband have his name taken off of the certificate of deposit, as someone else suggested he do? I would feel better if it were in her name only. No, we didn't cash it out; it's in the bank.
How do I find out the amount for cost of living? You said, "Find out what the IRS gives families like yours as far as the cost of living, and try to figure out what you actually pay - get it as close as you can to the standards as possible. They don't ask for receipts, etc. But if you are not realistic and you go over than what the IRS allows, than they might. So play with it (know what i mean)"
Now I kind of wish my husband wouldn't have cashed out his $18,000 pension (well, he's getting it in monthly sums of $450 or something like that). He had cashed it out a couple months ago so we were able to start paying again to the company that was doing the negotiating for us. Which by the way, they must have given our UNLISTED phone number to our creditors now that we've told them to turn over any remaining money in our account to us. Just today we got a call from a collection agency, and I assume that they somehow found out our phone number from that company that we had been sending monthly payments to.
I'm sorry to hear about your gambling. I guess each of us gets ourselves in over our heads for different reasons. Well, hopefully you at least had fun at the time. We had fun at the time we were spending money. I'm just not so sure it was worth all this though.
Exactly what determines if a family falls under chapter 13? Is it the household income? Like I just said in my other post, my husband spoke to another lawyer today and he said that since we don't have an income of $58,000, we would have to go with Chapter 7. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.
Yes, we did get out of the debt management program. We'll end up with $1500 (approx) and they will get almost twice that. That was a learning experience. We'd have been way better off if we'd have just filed last year like our son suggested to us, but we thought we knew best. I wanted to do what I thought was the right thing and try to pay the credit card people by having this company negotiate down our debts for us, but that was a mistake. We learn from our mistakes. I wouldn't do that again. I see no need to do that again because we won't get into the credit card game again!
Btw, our son moved to VA and likes it very much down there. He's also single. So just so I understand this, will you get to keep your car through the bankruptcy? I mean you personally. Are you filing under 7 or 13?
If we like the lawyer who we'll be meeting with in 2 weeks, then we'll go with him probably. I really didn't like that $4000 quote that the other one gave us. Well, actually to be exact I think it was $3850, but still too much, if you ask me.
Yes, that was our understanding too, that my husband will still have to pay back his $20,000 in college loans, but well, there was another lesson. Of course, he had not way of knowing when he was there that it would lead to a dead end. Looking back, though, it basically was a waste of money because he won't ever get a job in that field anyway since he has a criminal record (worked at a prison and was set up, drugs found in his possession, arrested, turned down by public defender, had to pay lawyer $3000 and couldn't afford any more to take it to court so took plea bargain and is paying back $700 to the county and is on a year's probation). That alone has turned our lives upside down for almost a year, and I'm at least glad that's over with except now it will be on his record till age 70. I guess that plus this bankruptcy thing was just too much to deal with at once.
So right off the bat he has to set aside $100/mo for his fines from that sentence, and he has a $300/mo car payment and $160/mo student loan payment. That's almost half of what he makes a month. So I hope the court doesn't take away his $400/mo pension payment because we've been using that so we can pay all our monthly bills.
Where can a person go to see a Kelly Blue book to see the value of our cars? Mine is paid off but his isn't. Would that make any difference? His care is really his car until he has it paid off, I guess, but you still have to list it? So you could get a new car even though you were/are going through bankruptcy? They knew that and didn't have a problem with it then, I guess. Well, I guess that's good. A person almost needs a car in our society. If we'd have a railway system like in Europe (not that I was ever there or ever will be there, I just know about it), we wouldn't necessarily need to own cars.
I don't think we'd be able to say that we pay rent because my mom is the type who just can't do anything underhanded. She's like a saint, not ever doing anything wrong, so I couldn't ask her to say that we pay rent when we don't. Besides, if the court would ask them for past checks from us for rent, there wouldn't be any. I know the papers said if we're lying about anything, the bankruptcy would be dismissed, just like you said. I still wonder if some people don't ask relatives or friends to put things in storage for them. We actually have so little income that if we'd have a rent payment yet, then the courts would wonder for sure how the heck we're getting all our bills paid.
My husband just found out from this new lawyer that everyone is entitled to one free credit report a year, yet the other lawyer didn't mention that to us. Here my husband went and paid for one! I wish he hadn't done that but what's done is done. I'm glad that the courts don't look at your credit report because wow, all those credit cards that are in our history. Even though most of them are closed out, I still don't think it would look too good seeing 30 some credit cards listed on the report. We closed all of them except for 7 of them. 6 of them are credit cards that we turned over to that company, and one is one that we're paying on yet and have it down to about $140, so we'll manage to get that one paid off in a few months.
thanks for all the advice!
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