Looking in to filining CH7 Any comments would help

[marine_1999]

Hi, I got married in 1999, while I was in the marines, the woman destroyed my almost perfect credit down to nothing, to the point that no matter how much money i make I am still behind...I have been trying to play catch up since then. Right now I have 2 wonderful daughters and a new G/F that I soon will be marrying and I don't want them hurt by my bad credit but would like to get ahead for once and get my family what they need....

Right now I am so concerned that I may loose everything including face over this I am worried..I dont know what to exspect nor do I know what to do.Should I hire a lawyer if I can afford one or go to someone that knows how to fill out the paperwork and do it my self...My family is my biggest concern in this matter..I just want to finaly get my past off my back and start towards the future..Any comments would be of great help in helping me decided what to do...thanks in advance

[Cassiopeia]

We need a lot more info than what you've given in that post. However, I will say this much: you certainly won't "lose everything" in BK. For most, filing BK was a great relief, and much MORE was gained than lost.

You could do it on your own, many have.....but you need to spend a lot of time learning the process, studying, and asking questions. Doing it yourself is called filing "pro se." Many of here have done it and could be very helpful to you.

Good luck! Keep posting! We are here to help.

[marine_1999]

I don't exactly know what to say... I have past dept from utilities a car a lawsuit that was totally bogus the guy completely lied to the judge all because he knew my witness couldn't make it to court and the judge didn't take my signed and notarized letter from my witness who was out of state.....it just goes on and on...I basically just want to start clean...forget about the past dept rebuild my credit from the beginning...So really I guess I am asking were do I begin? what do I need? What proof do I need to show to the judge when it goes to court or how ever the process works... Well along with that..How does a BK work realy? how long does it stay on my credit report how long after a BK is finished can I start Getting a new car home loan or what ever to build my credit back up...whats my limitations...I can go on forever here but I am guessing that u all get the point

[ssdsco]

Hi, I got married in 1999, while I was in the marines, the woman destroyed my almost perfect credit down to nothing, to the point that no matter how much money i make I am still behind...I have been trying to play catch up since then. Right now I have 2 wonderful daughters and a new G/F that I soon will be marrying and I don't want them hurt by my bad credit but would like to get ahead for once and get my family what they need....

Right now I am so concerned that I may loose everything including face over this I am worried..I dont know what to exspect nor do I know what to do.Should I hire a lawyer if I can afford one or go to someone that knows how to fill out the paperwork and do it my self...My family is my biggest concern in this matter..I just want to finaly get my past off my back and start towards the future..Any comments would be of great help in helping me decided what to do...thanks in advance

Reading through the stickies will give the basics. Start doing 3-4 consultations, normally free, with BK attorneys. You'll learn a lot.

Post your state of residence for the past couple years, income, family size, assets, equity in the assets, debt, and the experts will give some some initial advice.

Good luck !

[genseeker]

The easiest way to get started is start gathering up your financial paperwork. Whether you hire an atty or go pro se, there is certain info you will need. I filed Pro Se for myself and hubby, he just signed where I told him to

I started by getting copies of my credit reports. Then I started saving all the lovely "dunning" letters I was receiving from creditors. I also started keeping much closer eye on our spending because I wanted to avoid BK if reasonably possible. When hubby got a notice to recalculate child support, I knew we had no alternative to the BK. We had a financed vehicle and I knew we would not be able to pay it once the child support was recalculated.

I decided we had to file BK before the bank had time to repo it so I was in a rush to get everything together so I could file. I still missed a few creditors but luckily, you can amend a petition. By filing before the bank could repo, we should not have as much damage to our credit. Plus, everything else was on time until we filed. The better your credit when you file, the easier it will be to recover (that's a theory only)

If you don't do so already, start saving ALL your receipts. It may surprise you what you spend on groceries or gas. Also, if you are like us and have daily meds, you can deduct that as an expense so long as you can prove it. If you drive long distances to work, then having receipts can prove high gas expense. I purchased a large multi pocket folder at Big Lots and started saving everything and filing it by month. It annoyed hubby to have to save receipts but he was glad when he saw how detailed I was able to make our budget. If you buy something for cash, keep a small notebook and jot it down and file that as well.

Another advantage to saving everything is you will have the address/acct #/etc you need for your paperwork. I also made a spreadsheet with multiple pages. One page was for addresses, one for details about the acct - Who, Acct #, type (CC/utility), balance, date opened.

On another forum the book "Personal Bankruptcy Simplified" by Daniel Sitarz was recommended to me so I purchased it. It comes with a CD with all the standard forms. Your court may have some special forms, mine did, but the clerk had them available. I printed some blank forms and started filling in the account info on the correct page, like unsecured on Sch F, but it was in no specific order. I used my spreadsheet of addresses to get the creditors in correct order. If you want to get the book, try Amazon and look for private sellers. The book is around $30 but I got it new from a private seller for about $7, including shipping.

[SinkingFast]

You mentioned a lawsuit where there was a Judgement awarded against you??!! That could be a tricky situation.

Chat with several attnys who specialize in BK. Discuss the lawsuit issue with them.

[genseeker]

marine, was the lawsuit related to an auto accident? It is possible to discharge them in BK, if certain conditions are met. One big thing is that if DUI was involved, the judgment cannot be discharged. Other reasons to not discharge an auto judgment is when you are seriously violating the law, like speeding to avoid arrest, etc. I had a judgment against me for an auto accident where I only received a ticket for "unsafe movement". I came right over the crest of a blind hill and was not even to the posted speed but could not stop when I discovered traffic. My license has been suspended for years because of the accident but when I informed DMV of my BK filing, I was asked to send them a copy of my petition (1st page only) and they released my license.