Recent purchases, HELP?

[mfikic]

Ok, so I have 30k in medical debt and I am being sued. I have been served 3 times in the last week for different medical bills. I have used our small store cards for some clothing purchases for me, the kids, my husband. All of the charges in the last 30 days on each card are less than $500. Like i spent $200 on one, $100 on another, etc. Im afraid they would combine them because they are all through comenity bank. I didnt plan on filing right now, we just need new clothes. Im just afraid in general. I cannot afford a attorney and was planning on taking this road without one, I printed the forms and am researching everything. I have NO assets, no paid off car, live in a apartment. no cash on hand, small tax refund spent. I feel like waiting 60 days from time of last purchase will give time for my wages to be garnished and need to file asap. What should I do? What would you do?

[justbroke]

Since you used your credit cards to purchase necessities, it's usually not an issue. It's usually an issue for "luxury goods" (see 11 USC 523(a) "consumer debts owed to a single creditor and aggregating more than $500 for luxury goods or services incurred by an individual debtor on or within 90 days before the order for relief under this title are presumed to be nondischargeable". Again you purchased necessities and not luxury goods so I don't see the creditor bothering you.

You say that your car is not paid off, but how much equity do you have in the vehicle? Also, please review all the exemptions that are available to you to make sure you can exempt your personal property such as your vehicle, clothing, household goods, etc.

As for timing, you say that you are "being sued" and I read that you have had lawsuits filed and served. I don't know how fast they work in your area, but it's going to take you, probably, two weeks to put together your Chapter 7 paperwork. Make sure you include all your debt and all your medical bills. Are you expecting to incur any more significant medical debt?

justbroke's study guide: The bankruptcy reads that "the term “luxury goods or services” does not include goods or services reasonably necessary for the support or maintenance of the debtor or a dependent of the debtor" (11 USC 523(a)(2)(C)(ii)).

[Geeznowwhat]

i would worry about your ability to quickly get through a filing without an attorney. pro se

find a legal aid in your area. find out if they offer bankruptcy courses. you are going to need to get educated.
an attorney can give your some ideas, but if you dont hire an attorney, they really cannot help you fill out the forms. if you cannot hire an attorney, the only other choice is to learn

I suggest that you do not rush through this process. the court can dismiss your case...then where are you left?

i filed pro se, it took me about 3 months of learning, and 1 month of carefully filling out forms ... I made many mistakes, re-wrote the forms twice, and got it reviewed by lawyers at legal aid. took 5 months, start to file.

be careful. do it right the first time

so...don't worry about 60 days. it will be longer than that before your date of actually filing

[LadyInTheRed]

As justbroke said, it is very unlikely that the charges will be an issue. They are not luxuries, so they will not be presumed to be non-dischargeable. The bank would have to prove that you made the charges with no intention of paying them. It is not worth $800 to attempt to do that.

According to your profile you are in North Dakota. You have 21 days to answer the complaint. If you don't answer, the creditor has to get a default judgement before starting the garnishment process. I don't know how long that takes, but it won't happen over night. I saw one thing that suggests you will get 14 days notice before a default judgement is entered. If you serve and file an answer, you will delay the judgement even longer.

Take Geeznowwhat's advice and take your time to learn and try to find help. Try contacting http://www.legalassist.org/ See if they can help you delay judgement for a while. Also, look through that organization's brochures at http://www.legalassist.org/?id=37. Consult with a couple of bankruptcy attorneys. Most give free consultations that can be helpful for getting some questions answered. Read the information for pro se filers on the North Dakota Bankruptcy Court's website: http://www.ndb.uscourts.gov/filing-without-attorney. Buy Nolo's book on filing Chap 7.

Don't rush to the bankruptcy court unless you are forced to. If the creditor gets a judgement against you and garnishes your wages, you will get a 10 day notice of garnishment. If you aren't ready to file a complete petition a that point, you can file a skeletal emergency BK petition to stop the garnishment. You will then have 15 days to file all of your BK schedules.

[mfikic]

Thank you all for the reply, you have helped tremendously.