Filed Chp 7 Yesterday in West Michigan

[MichiganMan]

Does anyone have some good experiences in West Michigan to make me feel better.

We are really nervous and I keep looking for good experiences in West Michigan but can not find any.

[kathy4530050]

Does anyone have some good experiences in West Michigan to make me feel better.

We are really nervous and I keep looking for good experiences in West Michigan but can not find any.

Hey MichiganMan! I want to know too. I'll be filing in West Michigan very shortly. Based on the local religious conservative culture, I have am feeling pretty uneasy too.

When one of the lawyers I consulted said I couldn't include cable tv or internet in my expenses, I was pretty surprised. Later, he said I could include internet because I need it for my business. No cable or internet? I've read here that some people can include over $100/month for cigarettes and I shouldn't include cable? The same lawyer said my entertainment budget shouldn't be more than $25/mo.

SO, now I am paranoid that some of my expenses might be overly scrutinized . . .

[woodburner]

I'm interested also. Will be filing in Marquette and haven't retained attorney yet. How do you like your attorney? Did he tell you no cable, internet, cell phone?

[MichiganMan]

I guess it depends on the attorney!

That is nuts.

My attorney thought I was to conservative with my expenses and went over them with me to make sure they were correct. She made sure I had internet, phone, satellite tv and cell phone as expenses. We used the last 6 months of bills to make sure if they asked about any of them we could show it was correct with actual statements. I pay all my bills online with my checking account so we have all of my bank statements for the last 6 months as well. They are not required but i have them if the trustee wants them.

My understanding is, I have been given one of the more detailed/ strict trustee's and the judge I have is said to be a little critical. I have read some of the judges papers and he seemed fair to me.

She said the court does not expect you to not live a normal life after BK, just not above your means. She said if our satellite bill was like the platinum package 100 plus dollars it may get looked at and if you have hundreds of dollars for a cell phone bill they will want to go through the means test again, but if they are reasonable they never take a second look, we can not get cable out where we are and internet is wifi.

We do not live a fancy lifestyle anyway, so we are hoping they see that. We have the basic tv, stripped down phone service "that is hard with the bill collectors calling" but we are raising a family and we need to live as normal as possible.

And when selecting an attorney we told them we only wanted a conservative attorney because we live in West Michigan. I am pretty confident she is pretty conservative. We told her we do not want it to be close on making Chp 7 but wanted her to say compared to what I have had in the last few years yours should be fine. That does not mean it will, but I think we did what was right.

Trying to pump myself up!

[kathy4530050]

Can you tell me who your trustee is? How did you learn what his reputation is?

[MichiganMan]

Kathy sent you a PM

Kathy sent you a PM

You are not allowed to share that info on the site I think.
They alwways xxxxx out the names what I have seen.

Probably not a good idea anyway.

[MichiganMan]

Wood burner

I think they have a BK court above the bridge.

I would interview attorneys that have alot of experience in your district. They would know all the trustees and judges and what to expect. You want one that is very experienced and you feel comfortable with.

Remember, every attorney has different convictions, ideas and opinions. So go with history. Give all of them as much information during the interview process so they can give you a good idea of what you can expect because they should be able to relate you situation to what they have experienced in the past.

I can not tell you how impressed I am with the SE filers on this forum. I am not worthy of their brass ones!

[cupcake]

I'm in West Michigan, too. My 341 is next week and I'm a little nervous. I just can't wait for all of this to be over.

[kathy4530050]

I'm in West Michigan, too. My 341 is next week and I'm a little nervous. I just can't wait for all of this to be over.

Will you please let the rest of us Michiganders know how it goes . . . don't envy you one bit!