Needing major help in Fla.

[AmyJ]

Hi y'all,
I'm so overwhelmed. Never thought this would happen, but it is, and I'm trying to view this as business. I can't. It's my life crumbling. The stress is killing me. I have to pull myself together, but haven't been able to do it yet. so if anyone can help w/ the questions below, I'll be very grateful.

1) I have a lawyer. I said i'd be back w/in 7 days w/ all papers, but no way. Is this common? I know he can't find what i must find..

2) how do i get copies of statements from credit cards from 10 companies? i have some from the past few months, but not for a full yr or 2 yrs. I have two that I'm a month behind on. My lawyers said to stop payments.. If i were them, I would hang up on me.

3) about $5,000 exemption - i'm filing in Fla. I have a computer & printer I got in January. I need them for my job and side jobs. purchase value was almost 2k. Add that to car, which i own. It's 9 yrs old. but kelley's has it at over 6k. I'm supposed to get a low written estimate, but do i walk in and say "I need low" - i mean who will give me a low one?! I'm sick thinking about this.. I need a car to get to my job and I paid for that car w/ cash.

4) i almost did debt consolidation, then settlement, and that's part of why i got a computer. I needed hundreds more each month for consolidation. I saw that was not an answer, cuz I owe way too much. i didn't find a second job yet. Ch. 7 was never a goal, and i'm a mess. I want to pay a few credit cards, b/c i made those charges. my lawyer said no. i guess I listen?

I've been physically sick over this for days. Life has stopped. If anyone can answer gathering info, car & computer questions, thank you.

Amy-Jo

[helpless]

If you are going to file, stop paying your credit cards. That is throwing money away. Can you access you credit card statements on line, if so there should be a place where you can order back statements. Try that first. I wouldn't worry too much about computer. It is almost 6 months old. Nobody wants a used computer. It might be worth half that now anyways and go to a local car dealer and get an estimate or maybe a body shop. I would get a couple and use the lowest one. Don't get a second job if you are filing, that is just more money for the trustee and could possibly push you into a 13. I have been in a 13 for three years, trust me, if you can avoid a 13 you will be much better off. Don't regret not paying the cc's back. As people say on here, you have to look at it as a business decision, not a moral one. Think of how much better you will feel once all this is over and done with. You need to look at the big picture and try not to focus on all the negative. You are not alone.

[AmyJ]

If you are going to file, stop paying your credit cards. That is throwing money away. Can you access you credit card statements on line, if so there should be a place where you can order back statements. Try that first. I wouldn't worry too much about computer. It is almost 6 months old. Nobody wants a used computer. It might be worth half that now anyways and go to a local car dealer and get an estimate or maybe a body shop. I would get a couple and use the lowest one. Don't get a second job if you are filing, that is just more money for the trustee and could possibly push you into a 13. I have been in a 13 for three years, trust me, if you can avoid a 13 you will be much better off. Don't regret not paying the cc's back. As people say on here, you have to look at it as a business decision, not a moral one. Think of how much better you will feel once all this is over and done with. You need to look at the big picture and try not to focus on all the negative. You are not alone.

Thank you. I'm trying... i can spend tonite getting credit card statements online. This was a business decision, i need to hear that alot. My lawyer was pretty serious about saying that car's a problem. it's transportation... I'll go the best i can and pray i toughen up.

[piedpiper]

Try using nadaguides or edmunds for more estimates for your car; sometimes one of these will come up with a lower number.

[keepmine]

Why do you need a year or more woth of cc statements?
That's not necessary to file. I can understand a lawyer asking for them but, if you don't have 'em-you don't have 'em. I wouldn't stress that. Unless something is different about your situation, they really aren't necessary.

[AmyJ]

This is what's confusing... My lawyer said to bring in all, including bank statements, cc statements, pay stubs, etc. - anything showing money coming in and out. also to get car estimates "in person" and not online, which seems odd now. I've checked edmunds and all online. (thanks piedpiper!) I have to fill out my lawyer's forms, too, which are basically what everyone's talking about here.

that's why i'm a wreck. a lot of work when i'm working alot of hours and saturdays... My co. is laying off and the work falls where it falls.

I have cc numbers on paper. don't know what happens to verbal loans either. that's how i paid a nunch of bills the past 6, 8 months.

I can call my lawyer, i guess. I want to feel in control first...

[keepmine]

OK, first thing you do is just calm down. In 05, over 2 million of us filed to beat the bk reform act. This year, over a million will file. You're far from being the only sole on earth to go through this.
Get your stuff together. The big thing will be tax returns, paystubs and bank statements. Then, order all 3 credit reports. You get freebies once a year. Use these to identify { and get addresses} for your creditors. List all creditors exceptions may be the verbal stuff. If these verbal loans were from friends and family and you intend to repay them, don't list them. Post bk, the code says you may voluntarily repay anyone you please.
Unless somebody is suing you, this doesn't have to be done immediately. Take your time. Read and post here all you please and understand, your lawyer is working for you. Anything you don't understand, be certain you ask him and don't leave or hangup the phone until you're clear about what's going on. Another thing, be sure you do the credit counseling prior to filing. That can be done online at least 180 days before you file.

[lrprn]

100% excellent and on-target advice, KM...just wanted to clarify this last part in case there's any misunderstanding

Another thing, be sure you do the credit counseling prior to filing. That can be done online at least 180 days before you file.

Taking a credit counseling course approved by your state is required as KM said. The course must be taken sometime DURING the 180 days before filing. You don't want to wait until the last minute either.

Here's a link to the approved pre-filing credit counseling courses for every state - http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/ccde/cc_approved.htm . Expect to pay $35-50 for the course. Courses are offered online, over the phone, and in person so you can choose which option is going to work best for you. (And you can thank your 2005 Congressional representatives for this goofy waste of your time and cash.)

After you file, then you are required to take a completely different required debtor education course before you are discharged. Here's the link to those approved courses by state - http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/ccde/de_approved.htm . If you don't have a lot of experience budgeting and don't have a clear understanding about how credit really works, then this post-filing course can actually be quite useful.

[AmyJ]

Thank you! "calm down' is really it. Maybe my lawyer didn't expect me to show up w/ all perfect in 1 week. True about calling him. I'll ask about in-person car quotes, the tax extension i filed for, as well. Mainly i need to feel control.. I was warned that Florida is a tough state....

I've told very few people, so this means a lot to me. BK uproots so many emotions - I feel like a failure, I saw this coming and ignored it, i can't handle money and the rest. This is a sane, logical decision. I need to be reminded, so thank you all. Thanks too for links.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Amy, I filed in Florida, without an atty. It's definitely thorough here -- tough would be another way to put it -- but basically if you are open and upfront, and cooperate with the trustee and your atty in every way you know how, it will be fine.

The important thing is to disclose everything, don't try to hide stuff. If the estimates you got were legit, the lowest one is absolutely fine. That goes for anything you will have to declare. Try Ebay for finding a value on that used computer of yours -- I bet it's worth a lot less than $2k!

Also, in Florida you have $1000 personal property and $1000 motor vehicle exemptions... BUT, if you are not keeping a house, you can use $4000 of that unused homestead exemption as a wildcard -- in other words, apply it to whatever you like -- for a total of $6000 in exemptions. So chances are actually better than you think of being able to exempt all (or most) of your property. Your atty will tell you more about exemptions and how that works, but I wanted to cheer you up a bit.

Don't stress so much. Bk is actually pretty cut and dried, and less of a "shot in the dark" than you might think. Even in Florida. Good luck!!!

[AmyJ]

ebay is a great idea! thanks! that 2k was total, including shipping, warranty etc. just computer & printer were much less. i never thought of ebay..

do you know if it's better to do taxes before filing? i filed for an extension because i owe - i had next to nothing withheld to pay bills. i gave ballpark figure of what i owed and sent in $300, knowing i need to send in more. I guess i can ask my lawyer about that.

using the wildcard gets me to 6,000. i've been looking for car quotes and i hope trade-in value is correct. car alone is over 6,000, but not by much. but i haven't gone in person yet for the written estimates i have to get per lawyer. one suggestion i'll never understand was to sell car and lease an inexpensive one. leasing is throwing money away... and nothing is inexpensive. he also said the trustee might keep the car.

if you look at what i owe, then look at income alone, you want to cry. i'm listing it all from latest cc statements and W2. am still trying to get copies. but as for personal property, i have so little.

I know this process will make me tougher & smarter. i'm learning so much from everyone here. i have so much respect for those who learned what to do and did it.

[keepmine]

You should get that rebate check. Don't file until you have that and spend it unless, your lawyer says it's exempt in your district.
Since you owe taxes, there will be no refund so that's no issue.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Amy, you might want to go ahead and get a book or two on the Ch7 process -- I have a feeling that things will be a lot clearer to you if you understand the process. It's actually very simple; as with so many other things, the devil is in the details. There is a link to the one I like in my sig; there are other good ones too. But knowing the process, I think, will ease a number of your fears.

From what you've said, I would be *amazed* if you had to give up your car. If you own very little, and don't own a home at all, you aren't going to be exempting much *besides* your car.

Also -- and here's another reason to get the book because I guess your atty hasn't told you about this yet -- there is the option to buy back what is not exempt. Let's say your car is worth, hypothetically, $7k. Let's also say you have $1k worth of personal property you want to exempt. That leaves $2k of your car's hypothetical value unexempted. Well, your trustee doesn't want your car, and by the time you add in the time and cost for him to sell it at auction, he might be lucky to get $6k out of it. So what you do is have your atty do a deal with him: propose paying the bk estate $1k, for example, to cover the unexempt value of the car MINUS selling costs. Yeah, I know you don't have $1000 today or you wouldn't be in bk, right? But after you quit paying all your unsecureds that will be discharged anyway, $1000 might not be so hard to accumulate, and you'd still get to keep your car.

See what I mean? It's really not as dismal as you think. Get the book.

And yes, do your taxes *before* you file. That way they're done and out of the way and there's nothing for your trustee to ***** about, at least taxwise.

Good luck!!!

[AmyJ]

Thanks. I'm reading up on the bk process again. It's sinking in! I'm looking at Fla law, b/c I moved here under two yrs ago. I'm calming down, so thank you all! Nothing has been filed, I saw an attorney once, but i need to learn more myself. I vaguely remember my lawyer mentioning the possibility of paying the bk estate if the car is a problem. But that was a consult and he said a lot quickly. He said the trustees where i am are tough.

I got pay stubs, ordered tax returns and got the cc statements i have. My lawyer might want 1 full yr, but some cut you off after 3 mos. I called and no... even saying I was divorcing didn't work. So I'll have what I was able to get.

I've been working on taxes, and I'll owe b/c I didn't have enough withheld.

The last 5 years have been about staying ahead of cc and personal debt. I see it clearly. i've been using cash only & i found a bank w/ no direct deposit fees, no debit card fee, no monthly fees. I'm trying. The challenge will be if I'm sick, need new car brakes - or in an emergency.

I know that by not paying any cc's, i'll get calls. I'm behind on 2 big ones. Yet I owe the IRS.. Calls might be inevitable soon. I need to take what i have in to the lawyer w/in a week.

For the first time in ages, I have money in my checking acc't. Not alot, but it's probably a red flag...

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Amy, if you moved here less than 2 years ago, chances are VERY good you won't be using Florida exemptions, but the exemptions of the state you moved from. I posted the actual domicile requirements a while back; here's the link to the thread: http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=22054 -- look for my post.

Don't worry about the cash you have in your checking account; go ahead and live normally. There is no real red flag here; it's only unusual to you because you've been broke for so long. But about three weeks before you file, start using money orders to pay your bills: this way, the cash is not sitting in your acct waiting for checks to clear on the day you file. If you have, let's say, $500 in your checking acct on the day you file, it doesn't matter to the state that you have $498 in outstanding checks waiting to clear against it; it will all be part of the bankruptcy estate. So make sure your balances are low on the day you file, and use your exemptions to cover what remains. You'll be fine.

Do consider seeing another lawyer or two; the consults are free and you need to find one that can answer your questions clearly.