Hello everyone! I'm so glad to have found this forum, as I've been spending many a sleepless night confused and fearful over what to do in my situation. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on my present situation, as I'm really not sure what to do.
The basic story is this, I've lived in Northern Virginia for 10 years. Employed that amount of time with the same company. My mother lives with me, and I support her fully. Based on my income from work, I come in at about $600 over median insofar as income for a Chapter 7. Up until January, I have paid all my bills on time. I have two leased vehicles (one is mine, one is my mother's). The first and only time I was ever late was last year when I was socked with personal property tax on both cars (I wasn't expecting it to be so high), so I had to juggle to make the payment and got behind on unsecured credit cards. I did eventually catch up on those bills. I'm also a full-time student getting a degree in Accounting as well as working towards eventually getting teaching certification. So, I've had out of pocket expenses. I have a lot of unsecured credit card debt, all maxed out.
Now, here's where it gets tricky. First, I had until recently a business that I ran from the home. It was setup as a regular corporation. Business was up and down, and I acquired credit to purchase equipment in the hopes of making a "breakthrough" that would make the business successful (there would be spurts where a particular product would really sell, giving me hope, then suddenly drop off in sales). I barely broke even, and only incurred more debt (continuing to max out my own pesonal cards as well acquiring new business credit). I even attempted a second (corporate) business, but only made it 3 months with that one and did acquire one or two corporate debts (credit card) there. On the first business, sales competely dropped off to zero right around August of last year, to the point where I could no longer maintain minimum payments on the credit cards and I stopped paying those. Along the lines, I sold equipment to keep the business afloat, etc. There is nothing left of the business, and I "closed the doors" officially on December 31st. I spoke with a business attorney who told me that because the corporation had no assets, bankruptcy for the business was not necessary.
So, that was the first financial hit, although, I'll confess because on the personal side I was ok, I didn't worry too much. I figured I would somehow deal with the "personally guaranteed" business cards when I could (i.e. negotiate, settle, etc.).
Now, hit number two is what really sent things over the edge. My debt (and issuance of credit) is based upon one factor, that I don't pay rent. As I said, my mother lives with me, and I pay all her expenses, save for the rent. This is an agreement worked out with her ex-husband (my step-father, albeit "father" for nearly 35 years) many years ago. I won't give the sordid details, as it's very long, but suffice it to say, paying our rent is the least he owes her. This has been the situation for over ten years, so I'll admit that I came to "take for granted" the rent being paid.
Well, in late December (last year) my step-father and brother got into a dispute (again, long story...I'll save it). Even though I had nothing to do with any of the issues in question, my step-father "disowned me". His first step was to officially stop paying the rent, leaving me scrambling to cover the rent in January. The rent amount is actually more than my one semi-monthly paycheck, so yes, I was floored. Since then, it has been downhill. My creditors issued me credit based on my excellent payment history that pretty much backed up the notion that I did not pay rent. Now, half my pay has to go towards rent. Obviously, there is just no way to cover all the bills. I tried to pull from here, cover this cover that, to no avail. Citibank, for instance, rate-jacked me instantly on one card, to where the payment is now nearly $1,800. I called all my creditors explaining the situation, and all told me to get bent. So, the bills little by little are going unpaid, the charges getting higher, and I just don't see a way out of this.
That said, I am totally confused as to a couple of things:
1. When I do the means test, if I don't list my two vehicles, I don't qualify for chapter 7. However, I don't want or intend to keep either, so do I not list them? One of the vehicles, I have been battling the manufacturer, and just recently settled a lemon lawsuit with them. They won't take the car back, so I'm still liable for it. The amount I'm getting is minimal, would it be ok to pay the bk attorney with this amount? The other vehicle is soon to be 3 months behind on payments, so, they will probably attempt to repo soon. If I should pursue chapter 7, should I try to do it soon before they actually take the car?
2. When I do file, do I need to list all the personally guaranteed creditors from the business side? Someone (no pro, I admit up front) told me that I had to list all creditors, so if I guaranteed the debt, I have to list it. Will this cause red flags or issues with a trustree?
3. Do I consider credit counseling or some other option in my situation? At this point, I cannot save any money. With my take-home income, and now with covering the rent, I barely make enough to pay the rent, pay the utilities and possibly cover one car and the requisite utilities and food. I'm 40 years old, and would somehow like to SAVE something at this point. I am fully cognizant that this situation is my own mistakes, and all I want is to go back to a simple way of living, and save save save. I adore my mother, but she is nearly 60 years old, and has nothing to show for it. I know that I do not want to be in that position, and want to take steps to for some bit of security.
Sorry for the long-winded post, this is just such un-charted territory for me that I am completely confused and completely lost! Thank you so much in advance for any advice!!
The basic story is this, I've lived in Northern Virginia for 10 years. Employed that amount of time with the same company. My mother lives with me, and I support her fully. Based on my income from work, I come in at about $600 over median insofar as income for a Chapter 7. Up until January, I have paid all my bills on time. I have two leased vehicles (one is mine, one is my mother's). The first and only time I was ever late was last year when I was socked with personal property tax on both cars (I wasn't expecting it to be so high), so I had to juggle to make the payment and got behind on unsecured credit cards. I did eventually catch up on those bills. I'm also a full-time student getting a degree in Accounting as well as working towards eventually getting teaching certification. So, I've had out of pocket expenses. I have a lot of unsecured credit card debt, all maxed out.
Now, here's where it gets tricky. First, I had until recently a business that I ran from the home. It was setup as a regular corporation. Business was up and down, and I acquired credit to purchase equipment in the hopes of making a "breakthrough" that would make the business successful (there would be spurts where a particular product would really sell, giving me hope, then suddenly drop off in sales). I barely broke even, and only incurred more debt (continuing to max out my own pesonal cards as well acquiring new business credit). I even attempted a second (corporate) business, but only made it 3 months with that one and did acquire one or two corporate debts (credit card) there. On the first business, sales competely dropped off to zero right around August of last year, to the point where I could no longer maintain minimum payments on the credit cards and I stopped paying those. Along the lines, I sold equipment to keep the business afloat, etc. There is nothing left of the business, and I "closed the doors" officially on December 31st. I spoke with a business attorney who told me that because the corporation had no assets, bankruptcy for the business was not necessary.
So, that was the first financial hit, although, I'll confess because on the personal side I was ok, I didn't worry too much. I figured I would somehow deal with the "personally guaranteed" business cards when I could (i.e. negotiate, settle, etc.).
Now, hit number two is what really sent things over the edge. My debt (and issuance of credit) is based upon one factor, that I don't pay rent. As I said, my mother lives with me, and I pay all her expenses, save for the rent. This is an agreement worked out with her ex-husband (my step-father, albeit "father" for nearly 35 years) many years ago. I won't give the sordid details, as it's very long, but suffice it to say, paying our rent is the least he owes her. This has been the situation for over ten years, so I'll admit that I came to "take for granted" the rent being paid.
Well, in late December (last year) my step-father and brother got into a dispute (again, long story...I'll save it). Even though I had nothing to do with any of the issues in question, my step-father "disowned me". His first step was to officially stop paying the rent, leaving me scrambling to cover the rent in January. The rent amount is actually more than my one semi-monthly paycheck, so yes, I was floored. Since then, it has been downhill. My creditors issued me credit based on my excellent payment history that pretty much backed up the notion that I did not pay rent. Now, half my pay has to go towards rent. Obviously, there is just no way to cover all the bills. I tried to pull from here, cover this cover that, to no avail. Citibank, for instance, rate-jacked me instantly on one card, to where the payment is now nearly $1,800. I called all my creditors explaining the situation, and all told me to get bent. So, the bills little by little are going unpaid, the charges getting higher, and I just don't see a way out of this.
That said, I am totally confused as to a couple of things:
1. When I do the means test, if I don't list my two vehicles, I don't qualify for chapter 7. However, I don't want or intend to keep either, so do I not list them? One of the vehicles, I have been battling the manufacturer, and just recently settled a lemon lawsuit with them. They won't take the car back, so I'm still liable for it. The amount I'm getting is minimal, would it be ok to pay the bk attorney with this amount? The other vehicle is soon to be 3 months behind on payments, so, they will probably attempt to repo soon. If I should pursue chapter 7, should I try to do it soon before they actually take the car?
2. When I do file, do I need to list all the personally guaranteed creditors from the business side? Someone (no pro, I admit up front) told me that I had to list all creditors, so if I guaranteed the debt, I have to list it. Will this cause red flags or issues with a trustree?
3. Do I consider credit counseling or some other option in my situation? At this point, I cannot save any money. With my take-home income, and now with covering the rent, I barely make enough to pay the rent, pay the utilities and possibly cover one car and the requisite utilities and food. I'm 40 years old, and would somehow like to SAVE something at this point. I am fully cognizant that this situation is my own mistakes, and all I want is to go back to a simple way of living, and save save save. I adore my mother, but she is nearly 60 years old, and has nothing to show for it. I know that I do not want to be in that position, and want to take steps to for some bit of security.
Sorry for the long-winded post, this is just such un-charted territory for me that I am completely confused and completely lost! Thank you so much in advance for any advice!!
Yes try to do the Ch 7 before they repo the vehicle. You can surrender both vehicles in your BK or one vehicle. There are lots of threads regarding keeping or surrendering the vehicles and the various strategies. 
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