Have to file

[scaredneko]

Have been very glad to have found this site. It has been very helpful to me the last two weeks that I have perused it.

Bankruptcy seems to have become the only option for me and I still have one more attorney to visit and some time to wait it seems.

I reached this stage in the last year after spending on a wedding ( 15 k ) that turned out to be a disasater when shortly after her past caught up to her, she never told me she had been hiding from the law for 2 years, I foolishly cash advanced 25k to pay her legal fees and court costs while she was locked up telling me she was pregnant and my love for her. Needless to say she booked after her finaly court date that left her free as a bird and legal again.

That left me pretty pretty depressed and tied with a pay cut and low commisions from my state of mind Ive finally reached a point where this is the last month I will be able to pay my credit card debts and the additional 2500 from the divorce that seems is going to be more with her disseapearing and failing to respond any further and having to take it to court.

Anyway as mentioned above the cash advances were all over the a 3 month period of march - may and Ive been using my discover card for just survival up to this weekend. I was told to stop using them and put as much time as possibel before the file since the cash advances could pose serious issues in filing a chapter 7 but hopefully my circumstances could let it fly.

I owe a total of about 65k unsecured 40 of which was consolidated in late april. The boat I already missed payment on and am pretty sure it will be repoped before I can get to filing. from what Ive gathered here I should wait until January to add the extra time and allow myself to get my tax return.

Should I go and stock up on food one last run onm the discover card and buy what clothing I need within constraint before they cut me off next month when I miss that payment ?

My vehicle seems to be an issue I am making just about $80 over the means test for chapter 7 with a 1200 house payment 480 car payment family of one in Texas which seems to be higher than allowed but I am in outside sales and it is a must have. With utilities ect I can just get by. I know my situation as for income can improve but not eough to cover the costs and increased interest rates that are sure to come very soon. My employer will hold commisions for me until I get it over with to keep my income low enough to pass the means test.

I really want to get it over with as soon as possible, and am hoping Jan. will put enough time between my card usage to qualify for a chapter 7 withotu losing my home. I live in Texas fortunately so no wage garnishment.

How soon should I stop putting money in my checking acount ? I do have a small equity loan from tha credit union which I dont want to mess up since its tied to the house and keeps my equity of the home down.

Anyway i wanted to post a hello and share my situation and appreciate any insight you all can provide to prepare and ready for this.

Bank of America 47k
Citi 7k
Discover 7k only card Ive used in last 3 months
Chase 10k
equity loan 12.7
House 128k tax value 159
car 15k est value 10-12k 80k miles
Furniture loans threw ge / chase 7- 8k but on 2 year no payment no interest until 09' not sure if that will last. purchased in april.
Boat loan 18k wells fargo
WMU 7k
Live in Texas current credit score 705 and about to take the plunge.

Made 89k last year about 55 last 3 years previous and will hit abotu 32k this year.

[Granny]

Welcome Scaredneko. You've found a wonderful forum.

I wish I could give you some advice, but I'm a 13er. I'm sure the more experienced members will jump in and give you a heads up.

I just wanted to say welcome to another fellow Texan.

[CityGirl]

I'm pretty sure you can't keep your home in a chapter 7, but again, I don't really know the details. Someone will chime in

[lrprn]

I'm pretty sure you can't keep your home in a chapter 7, but again, I don't really know the details. Someone will chime in

CG, it is ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE to keep your home in a Ch 7 if the payments are up to date and your state exemptions cover the equity.

Some advice, CG - please, PLEASE don't post if you aren't very sure about your information! New members take what we say here in the forums very seriously. When you give 100% wrong information like you did here, since people trust the information they get here in the forum, they will believe your wrong information. That can lead to disaster, not just for the original poster, but for anyone else who reads the inaccurate information you just posted. Far better to not post at all than post something very wrong and then say you aren't sure.

[lrprn]

Welcome to BK Forum, SN - glad you decided to post! So sorry to hear that you were taken advantage of so thoroughly by this woman

A few questions for you....
Are you still married?
If you look back the last six months, how much income from all sources did you make?
Do you have any other children or adults living with you?
Do you have assets you want to keep (house, cars)?
Are you up to date on the payments for these assets?
You said you hoped to file in January - that means no credit card use starting October 1. If you stop paying your non-secured creditors, are you going to be able to do that?
Most bankruptcy lawyers will advise you to divorce first, then file bankruptcy - it's much cleaner on the bankruptcy side that way. When are you hoping to file for divorce?

I'm sure there will be more questions as you share more info. Again, welcome! Ask questions - we'll help you sort things out if we can.

[scaredneko]

Thanks for all the responses. I filed petition for divorce in June, just finally passed the 61 day waiting period here in Texas. But have not gotten any response from her and she has pretty much dropped off the planet. Dreading having to spend more to take it to court to finalise with her a no show, maybe the judgement against her will help some to the trustee ? but she has 4 judgements against her already I have found out and really just want it over with quickly as possible I doubt Ill ever get a penny from her.

Income from the last 6 months has been pretty much just base pay 2800 a month with a few commisions in start of year around 5k, Her income was minimal but helped pay the credit bills until she went to jail and then took off.

I havent missed any payments on the house or car and dont plan to. I took in a cousin as a roomate this past week. But there is no way Im going to be able to keep up on the credit cards at this point and it feels like wasted energy and stress. I've been scrapping to get them paid since june with savings ect.

Thank you for the welcome

[Cassiopeia]

CG, it is ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE to keep your home in a Ch 7 if the payments are up to date and your state exemptions cover the equity.

Some advice, CG - please, PLEASE don't post if you aren't very sure about your information! New members take what we say here in the forums very seriously. When you give 100% wrong information like you did here, since people trust the information they get here in the forum, they will believe your wrong information. That can lead to disaster, not just for the original poster, but for anyone else who reads the inaccurate information you just posted. Far better to not post at all than post something very wrong and then say you aren't sure.

I filed Ch. 7 in FL and reaffirmed my home equity line of credit with my bank. I am able to keep my home.

[JollyGG]

I'm pretty sure you can't keep your home in a chapter 7, but again, I don't really know the details. Someone will chime in

We kept our home, two vehicles, a camper, and everything else we own. The only thing we gave up was a couple hundread dollars of our tax return.

In order to keep a vehicle or home you need to be able to cover the available equity in it with one of your exemptions and you need to be current on payments.