Business going under... need help and advice

[Spartan]

Can you arrange to defer receiving bonus this year? If you can defer your job performance evaluation for 6-9 months... that mean you wouldn't be receiving bonus until then...

[CindyLou]

I do think it will be exempt in TX. so if it won't affect your filing the chpt.7 due to an increase in income then it should be a prob. you will, however have a firm answer to that when you meet with an attorney

[SinkingFast]

I would like to talk to the lawyer before I make any final decisions about the CCs. We need to take the best steps possible here while still protecting as many of our assets as we can.

I didn't mean for you to stop paying any loans at this point. Definitely keep up your payments until you know for sure what direction you're headed.

If you're using CC's right now for charges or cash advances, I was suggesting you stop that. I know. Great timing with Christmas right around the corner.

There's a 70/90 day Rule about CA's and CC use. 70 days on cash advances. 90 days on CC use. If you file within that time frame, the burden of proof that you used the cards fraudulently falls on you. Outside that time frame, the burden of proof shifts to your Creditors.

I wasn't saying to stop making payments on your loans. Just stop using your CC's for purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers.

[lisac77]

But the loans are what we will have to stop paying. Since DH can't work 8 AM - 10 PM anymore (due to his physical injury and dangerous conditions at the store), we will not have enough money to pay them.

I understand what you mean about the credit cards. It all revolves around when the lawyer thinks we should file next year. If my bonuses will be exposed no matter what we do, the timing won't matter so much and we'll be able to set at date and then file more than 90 days after that.

[lisac77]

Well I got the referral from the Bar Association. They didn't have any bankruptcy board certified lawyers in the system, but they did have some with more than 10 years experience. I got one of the very experienced ones.

The Bar Association is a good route to go because they give you an hour-long consultation for $20. Since our case is so complicated, we wanted to pay for the consultation so we don't just get written off.

So I got the name of the lawyer this morning and called DH to see if he wanted to go to the meeting (so I could have his schedule in mind before I made the appointment). He got angry with me because he said I was pushing him to make this decision. I said, "You told me you wanted to stop paying your business loans. Is that still true?" He said, "Yes." "Well then we need to see a lawyer ASAP so they don't sue us and take our house." "Oh."

He wants to talk it over with me tonight, which is fine, but I am making the appointment tomorrow whether he agrees to go or not.

He is frustrating me to no end!

[SinkingFast]

Lisac,......... Maybe approach it like this with Hubby.

Nobody goes out and buys a car without doing research. You're just learning your options so you can make an educated and informed decision. Consulting with an attny is one part of the process of learning what your options are.

We didn't start right out Consulting attnys. We went to a DOJ approved Credit Counselor to get a professional financial opinion first. Could we get a payment plan that would work for us and repay all our debt?? We couldn't. In fact, the Credit Counselor is the one that recommended seeking legal counsel.

Maybe if you approach Hubby from that standpoint, it will make going to the Consult more palatable for him.

Another place to look for an attny is your BK Court's Home Web Page. Look up who the Trustees are for your Court. Many Trustees are practicing attnys who represent people in BK thru their private practices. Try scheduling a Consult appt with one of the Trustees. Don't Consult with them all as you could taint your Trustee pool. But,........ Who better knows what will and will not fly in BK Court than a Trustee!

[Brendon]

I just went through a situation similar to this in your area...I used a lawyer in Plano and just received my discharge. I even sold a house, held the equity in the bank for 4 mos and bought a new house in a new city. Our lawyer promised us that the "cash" from the sale of the house couldn't be touched since it was homestead exempt. I can share our lawyer's name if you send me a private message.

My dream business turned out to not be so dreamy either... I have never worked so hard for so little in all my life.