How long before filing?

[berrymom31]

Hi all....we stopped paying our cc in May after our first consultation with our atty. We first intended on a 13, but now are pushing for a 7...letting the house go..let the new suv go....moving into a rental....

Now, we have to wait another 6 months...at least..before we file so we can bring our income down. Is this too long to not pay any bills without officially filing? Were current now on our house, but are not paying any more mortgage payments as were moving in 2 weeks......I guess I'm just worried that this is too long to wait. It will probably be more like 8 months because I can't quit my job in the middle of projects I've taken on. I'm a contractor, and while I can stop accepting jobs, I just can't drop them mid-way through. I don't get paid until they are completed, so I would be losing a few thousand by walking away and putting this company in a bind.

[liz417]

If you are surrendering your home, they you really don't have any assets for them to take and/or put a lein on. I've heard of people waiting and year or 1.5 years before they file. I guess the cc could go for wage garnishment (if your State allows it), but that takes time and $$...Did your attorney tell you to refer the cc calls to him/her? I think dealing with the CC/CA phone calls will be your biggest problem.

[MomIcantFindmy]

I agree. Look up your states wage exemptions. We quit paying in Nov and filed in April but we really didn't have much they could take. You would get quite a bit of warning through court summons etc before it became a true emergency filing and worse case you could file a chap 13 and then convert to a 7 (if it was allowed...ask your attorney).

[justplaintired]

We talked to an attorney in Jan. We retained our attorney in Feb, paid in full. We quit paying and using cc in Jan. We are still waiting to file. We started giving our attorneys name and number in March. We will not file until sometime in Aug. We original worried about waiting so long, but have found it's not been bad. Having our attorney there to handle the calls is a life saver. If yours will do this, which I do hope they will, your life will be much less stressful. Good luck!

[Hopefull1983]

I've stopped paying the debt that I plan on discharging back in May. I get a ton of calls and even some letters saying they are moving to collections, but nothing too serious yet.

[berrymom31]

Thanks, yes we have given all creditors calling our atty's number and they don't call....sometimes we get a letter that asks for the atty's name and number and our chapter number, but I ignore these as we have given them the info already....

No, we have no assets for them to take! We are moving in 2 weeks to a decent rental in a nice little town, and I can't wait to have 6 months of stress free living!!! With no HUGE mortgage!!!!!!

[Priceless ProSe]

Not saying its morally right, but if you did drop a contract in the middle they wouldnt be able to come after you because you could include this in the BK as well. I always try to look at things from a different angle, thats all.

[Cali]

I stopped paying in January, retained attorney in Feb, and filed in June.

[gophermn]

I am finding that many think it is pretty blacn-n-white that if you are over the median income then you can not file a CH7. This is not true. Unless you have an attny or use the knowledge in this forum, you can file CH7 despite your income. My income was over $78K and I was able to file CH7. In fact with my wife and I, we were well over $110K and still filed CH7.
What broke the camels back was my debt. I had over $600K in debt and filed alone, not married. The US Trustee tried to gather every penny & dime from my wife but my attny stepped in.

[soleprop]

gopher, was that primarily nonconsumer debt? if so, that's what enabled you to file and stay in a CH7 even though you were over the median.

[berrymom31]

So, if the majority of your debt is consumer..then you are more likely to be able to qualify over the median? We have a mortgage that we are letting go back to the bank, and everything else is consumer.....we are about 9,000 over the median and I'm scared to death we won't be able to qualify.

[leftyf]

My debt was all consumer debt and I was well over the median. I was about $13K over and still got by with a 7. If you want a 7, keep talking to attorneys until you find one willing to file it (and he/she doesn't seem to be insane.) Most told me I had to file a 13...very strange. I can't figure out why they were telling me that when it was clear I wanted a 7 and they were selling me on their services? Guess all the bk attorneys have enough work right now and they didn't want to promise me something that they couldn't guarantee. Good luck.
Anyway, ch 7 filed and discharged here.
lefty

[berrymom31]

thanks, our atty pushed for a 7 but at first we wanted to keep our house...but we finally faced the fact that it is too expensive...so were letting the house go..we have about 60,000 in consumer debt and with me quitting my job will make about 9,000 over the median. Over the next 6 months we are going to try and file that down some to get a little closer, but I'm fairly confident with my 3 kids and my hubbys commute and inflated gas prices we will make the means with being over....especially since finding the thread about the 200 per month allowance for older cars........I am supposed to hear from our atty tomorrow about whether she thinks we can make a 7 if I quit my job, or if hubby quit his 2nd job or both....she is supposed to have ran all the scenarios. We have not been happy with her so far, but if she calls tomorrow and tells me she thinks we can do it...we'll stay with her. If she still balks at 9,000 or less over the median I'm finding a new atty..one that is willing to fight for us!

[soleprop]

can someone explain to me how voluntarily quitting a job and lowering your income that way doesn't lead to the presumption of abuse? i'm sure there are ways, i just don't know them. just seems like it'd up the scrutiny...

thanks

[Help!]

So, if the majority of your debt is consumer..then you are more likely to be able to qualify over the median? We have a mortgage that we are letting go back to the bank, and everything else is consumer.....we are about 9,000 over the median and I'm scared to death we won't be able to qualify.

No, the opposite is true. The dismissal/conversion of a case because of presumed abuse (A.K.A. a 707(b) motion to dismiss) occurs when the debt *is* primarily consumer debt.

In other words, if your income is high and you're discharging mostly consumer debt, you are "guilty until proven innocent" under the new laws. Don't be scared to death, just do what you need to in order to prove to the court that discharge in your case is not abuse. It's all about intentions, and I really believe trustees have the ability to sense this.