My monthly minimum payments are $2000

[tg16]

If I stop paying them for 3 months, what do I do with that money, minus the attorney's fee?

[justbroke]

Go see the doctor? Put food in your refrigerator and cabinets? Get your car repaired? Generally, make sure other bills (housing/mortgage, car, medical, etc) are up to date. I'm sure someone has a list of things that you should do, which may include repairs.

[Carmella]

Great advice justbroke I wish I had known about this forum Before we filed. I would have done a few things differently such as using that money more to my advantage.

[bigdog6464]

It is what we call negative estate planning. If you are going to file bankruptcy and you have cash that will not be protected by exemptions, there are things you can spend it on that a Trustee will not care and then there are things you can't spend it on that a Trustee will go after that money. For example, you could pay your car insurance annually instead of monthly. As JustBroke says, buy groceries, pay for daycare for the month, pay a mortgage or rent payment for a couple months, etc. A Trustee will not have any problem with that. What you don't want to do is pay off a credit card or loan in full including and especially to a family member. There are preferential payments and a Trustee can and will (depending on the amount) go after these people to recover the money. You can also leave some cash in your possession if you have the exemptions to protect it.