My husband and I have decided to jump off the credit card debt cycle..robbing Peter to pay Paul, and file Ch. 13. I believe its the only option for us.
We have never had a late payment on anything in the 13 years we have been married. We are current on our house. Have no car payments or student loan payments. All of our debt we are filing for is unsecured. $100k in credit cards and $20k in unsecured loans/lines of credit.
I understand the basics of Chapter 13. There are some parts Im confused about. We have our 1st appt with a lawyer in 10 days. We went ahead and scheduled our pre-filing counseling for Tuesday. I bought and read "Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Keep Your Property & Repay Debts Over Time" by Robin Leonard J.D. and Stephen Elias Attorney. I feel I have a good understanding, but have more questions.
1) If I already know I am filing, can I go ahead and stop paying these credit cards? Im afraid to, but sort of feel that I would just be throwing money away that I could save to actually pay for the fees and filing cost. Im so nervous to do it, but I never really had the money to pay anyway..I would just take a cash advance from one to pay the other.
2) Since I did do recent cash advances and my bank used my cc as overdraft protection as recently as May 28, will they still let me file, even though I did not use the cash advance/overdraft from the credit card for luxury items? Or will they make me wait 90 days?
3) If I have to wait 90 days, I will not pay the cc bills. Won't they start calling me? Should I answer the phone or just ignore it? Im so nervous about this part.
4) Will the lawyer give us an idea of what our payments will be at the first meeting (Im bringing in all the right paycheck stubs and tax returns and list of our monthly expenses).
5) Do you get to schedule the 341 meeting or do they pretty much tell you when it is. Do you get to reschedule if you have to work or something?
6) What happens if you get an unexpected bonus at work? My husband is supposed to get quarterly bonuses, but they are never guaranteed. My job is "as needed". Sometimes I work 30 hrs a week, sometimes 0. Will they count my income or just his? His job is steady and gets the same pay every month.
7) Since I don't have mortgage issues (I have always been current on my mortgage and will continue to do so), is there any reason to believe that my plan won't be confirmed? And if its not confirmed, then what?
7) I have heard that credit card companies typically don't put in a claim. Where does the money go if none of them do? I know I still have to keep paying. I guess the process seems a bit backward to me. If I am already making payments way before the confirmation hearing, what happens to the money I pay?
8) Do we HAVE to do payroll deduction in Ohio? We would much rather pay directly and leave my husband's job out of the loop. He does not want them knowing about it.
9) Will I have enough money for the kids to do their extra sports things at school? I mean, Im not asking for blowing money at the mall, but things like their cheerleading and girl scouts that we have to pay for uniforms and fees and things like that?
10) What about if something HUGE happens, like something with the house that needs repaired or a car breaks down? I normally rely on credit cards for those things and am so nervous to have that blanket pulled from under me.
11) What happens in my husband loses his job due to layoffs and the economy?
12) I know I have to pay the filing fee, but how do the attorneys normally collect their fees? Do I have to pay upfront or do they allow for partial payments or roll it into the filing?
Im sure Ill have more questions, but those are all I have for now.
We have never had a late payment on anything in the 13 years we have been married. We are current on our house. Have no car payments or student loan payments. All of our debt we are filing for is unsecured. $100k in credit cards and $20k in unsecured loans/lines of credit.
I understand the basics of Chapter 13. There are some parts Im confused about. We have our 1st appt with a lawyer in 10 days. We went ahead and scheduled our pre-filing counseling for Tuesday. I bought and read "Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Keep Your Property & Repay Debts Over Time" by Robin Leonard J.D. and Stephen Elias Attorney. I feel I have a good understanding, but have more questions.
1) If I already know I am filing, can I go ahead and stop paying these credit cards? Im afraid to, but sort of feel that I would just be throwing money away that I could save to actually pay for the fees and filing cost. Im so nervous to do it, but I never really had the money to pay anyway..I would just take a cash advance from one to pay the other.
2) Since I did do recent cash advances and my bank used my cc as overdraft protection as recently as May 28, will they still let me file, even though I did not use the cash advance/overdraft from the credit card for luxury items? Or will they make me wait 90 days?
3) If I have to wait 90 days, I will not pay the cc bills. Won't they start calling me? Should I answer the phone or just ignore it? Im so nervous about this part.
4) Will the lawyer give us an idea of what our payments will be at the first meeting (Im bringing in all the right paycheck stubs and tax returns and list of our monthly expenses).
5) Do you get to schedule the 341 meeting or do they pretty much tell you when it is. Do you get to reschedule if you have to work or something?
6) What happens if you get an unexpected bonus at work? My husband is supposed to get quarterly bonuses, but they are never guaranteed. My job is "as needed". Sometimes I work 30 hrs a week, sometimes 0. Will they count my income or just his? His job is steady and gets the same pay every month.
7) Since I don't have mortgage issues (I have always been current on my mortgage and will continue to do so), is there any reason to believe that my plan won't be confirmed? And if its not confirmed, then what?
7) I have heard that credit card companies typically don't put in a claim. Where does the money go if none of them do? I know I still have to keep paying. I guess the process seems a bit backward to me. If I am already making payments way before the confirmation hearing, what happens to the money I pay?
8) Do we HAVE to do payroll deduction in Ohio? We would much rather pay directly and leave my husband's job out of the loop. He does not want them knowing about it.
9) Will I have enough money for the kids to do their extra sports things at school? I mean, Im not asking for blowing money at the mall, but things like their cheerleading and girl scouts that we have to pay for uniforms and fees and things like that?
10) What about if something HUGE happens, like something with the house that needs repaired or a car breaks down? I normally rely on credit cards for those things and am so nervous to have that blanket pulled from under me.
11) What happens in my husband loses his job due to layoffs and the economy?
12) I know I have to pay the filing fee, but how do the attorneys normally collect their fees? Do I have to pay upfront or do they allow for partial payments or roll it into the filing?
Im sure Ill have more questions, but those are all I have for now.
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