Hired my lawyer today...

[Odie]

Hopefully, this will be the best $1300 I've ever spent. Right?

It still disturbs me that I have to list my PETS as assets. I don't have champion pure-breds or anything! Three are from shelters and one was either a barn kitty or dumped out in the country by "well-meaning" folks.

I gave him all my numbers, assets down to the $10 beat-up old end tables we're using for nightstands, paystubs, tax returns...

I just see all the horror stories on here and I can't help but worry. But I'm being upfront and honest, and for all that I feel like I have a lot of assets I know I really don't. He seemed confident that we can keep everything, and he didn't say it outright but it sounds to me like he'll be using the federal exemptions (which you can do in WI, thank Gawd) I don't have a lot of equity in my house, so I'm hoping that the leftover from that exemption will cover anything that the regular exemptions don't.

It's just all numbers, and numbers hurt my head and make me uneasy.

LawyerMan said he should have the paperwork for me by next week, so hopefully I'll be on the way to filing before long. Here's hoping it all goes well...

[nomoneynomore]

Congrats on filing, and really, don't worry about it! I have been worrying for months, and it does no good but to make you feel bad. It seems that most of the horror stories are from "bigger" issues. I know ours seems cut and dry, and I had spent time worrying that I forgot some mundane little detail that would totally screw us, but it really doesn't help anything to worry

[Cali]

Congrats to you!!

I hired my attorney in March, but just turned in my paperwork today.

Here's hoping we both have a smooth ride.

[god077]

spoke with attorney and have lots of questions

sorry if i didn't post in right area
ok so i'm going to file c7
my lawyer said i will be able to live mortgage/bill free for up to a year. he said that i am not able to save any of the money that i am saving from not paying my bills. he said that i will have to spend all the money on anything that is not considered an asset. My question is how does the trustee know weather or not i am spending the money or just keeping it for a rainy day? do they require that i keep a spending log of all the money i have or keep and show proof of all purchases. i would really like to save this money so it can help me start over in life. please respond back with any information that might help or similair sistuations.
thank you
also how do i start my own post

[scorpios]

hopefully we both have a smooth ride i know it is going to be stressfull that some guy that you dont even know can squash you like a bug it feels like! we havent filed yet but hope to soon good luck to you!

[music12]

god077, to start a new post you go to the list of threads and click on "start a new thread".

they would know whether you spent the money because you will have to report the total amount of cash + amounts in your bank account on the day you file. you can, however, save up to the exemption which is around $11,000 (unless your lawyer plans to use the exemption for some other asset).

they are unlikely to go after every receipt, but if we are talking about a large amount of money that's left over for you each month (which it could be if you go for a year without paying mortgage), it might raise an eyebrow, and they might ask you about it under oath.

once you know when you are filing, you can spend as much as you want on essentials: stock up on food, buy new clothes, get dental work done, buy gifts up to $200 per family member. that way you are converting non-exempt assets (cash) to exempt assets (food, clothes), and that's allowed.

a good thing to do at this point is to forget credit cards exist and live on cash only starting right away. you'll have to anyway once you file (your credit cards will most likely be shut down then).