New to the forum- a few questions!

[mesummerlin]

Hi! First, thank you for this forum. I've been skimming topics and it seems like everyone is asking great questions and being very supportive in their answers. This is a tough time in people's lives and it helps to have a community to turn to that knows how it feels.

My husband and I tried to be conservative when we bought our house- 50K on the home with a $460/mo payment (not bad!) Then all of our pipes burst and we had to borrow another 25K on the home for repairs. Our pipes burst 3 weeks before I had our 3rd child (sleeping on my mom's floor that last 3 weeks was not fun) and I was on maternity leave from work receiving 60% of my income. Long story short we've been using credit cards to pay bills and ran those up quickly. We also had relatives come to visit and we didn't have a bed for them to sleep on so we bought reasonable items (Bunkbeds for our older boys- $400, a mattress for the guest bed- $300 (we were able to get the actual bed for free) and some other things for the room.

We've been pulling from the credit card as overdraft protection for about 3 months now to live on. I'm back at work but there's no way we can drag ourselves out of this- when all the credit card, student loan, and house payments are paid there's nothing left to buy food or gas with. We're not behind on any payments right now but our overdraft protection credit card only has $500 left on it- we know we can't go on like this.

Our income qualifies for chapter 7 in TN. We plan on letting them take the house if we file. My main question- should we wait 90 days until after the last credit card overdraft transfer? I know they regard those as cash advances and we've pulled more than $825 in the last 70 days.

Also- we have 3 vehicles. They are all paid off, daily drivers, and collectively worth around $5500. Do you know if we would be able to keep all 3?

[shabam]

Waiting is an absolute must.

Have you thought about setting up a consultation with a bk lawyer?

[backtoschool]

Hi! First, thank you for this forum. I've been skimming topics and it seems like everyone is asking great questions and being very supportive in their answers. This is a tough time in people's lives and it helps to have a community to turn to that knows how it feels.

My husband and I tried to be conservative when we bought our house- 50K on the home with a $460/mo payment (not bad!) Then all of our pipes burst and we had to borrow another 25K on the home for repairs. Our pipes burst 3 weeks before I had our 3rd child (sleeping on my mom's floor that last 3 weeks was not fun) and I was on maternity leave from work receiving 60% of my income. Long story short we've been using credit cards to pay bills and ran those up quickly. We also had relatives come to visit and we didn't have a bed for them to sleep on so we bought reasonable items (Bunkbeds for our older boys- $400, a mattress for the guest bed- $300 (we were able to get the actual bed for free) and some other things for the room.

We've been pulling from the credit card as overdraft protection for about 3 months now to live on. I'm back at work but there's no way we can drag ourselves out of this- when all the credit card, student loan, and house payments are paid there's nothing left to buy food or gas with. We're not behind on any payments right now but our overdraft protection credit card only has $500 left on it- we know we can't go on like this.

Our income qualifies for chapter 7 in TN. We plan on letting them take the house if we file. My main question- should we wait 90 days until after the last credit card overdraft transfer? I know they regard those as cash advances and we've pulled more than $825 in the last 70 days.

Also- we have 3 vehicles. They are all paid off, daily drivers, and collectively worth around $5500. Do you know if we would be able to keep all 3?

With the cash advances so recently, I would definitely wait 90 days to file, but you can start consulting with bk lawyers and picking a lawyer and planning now.

[eddiep]

Will you still be under median now that you are back to work? They will use the six month's income before filing so keep that in mind when timing your bk. If you are sure you want to file start interviewing attorneys, it will take some time to get everything prepared and your attorney will be able to advise you on how long to wait on the cc charges. As far as the cars... go to www.legalconsumer.com they have a list of exemptions for each state. If you have enough exemptions availble you will be able to keep the cars. Are the relatives still living with you?

[stikks]

Good morning.I have just registered to this forum as a new member
but have been reading for about 2 months.I have recently retained a lawyer to file for a chapter 7 after struggling to pay cc debt for 3-4 years.The raising of the minimum payments was the last straw in my decision to file.I have learned quite a bit about the process from this forum over the last 2 months,and the members seem to really care
which is comforting.I have a couple of questions.My lawyer says I
qualify for chapter 7,have $$$$$$ in cc debt,own 2 vehicles both owned.1 is 1991 and other is 2000.I am current on mortgage and want to keep my house (owe more than what it is worth).Will i be able to keep both vehicles? Also my property tax is 3 months late and the second installment is due 9-4-09.I guess my question is should I pay the june installment before 9-4 and then pay my lawyer to quickly get my petition filed or should I just pay the property tax in full
by the end of sept. and put the lawyer on hold.Will the state (illinois) put my house up for a tax sale and if so how long will that take.I just missed my first cc payments this month for the first time in my life,
I am 51.-sorry for the long post- any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[keepmine]

stikks,

Please start your own thread. It gets confusing when you're trying to answer questions from multiple posters in a single thread.

[stikks]

I`m sorry,I saw the heading new to forum and thought that is where I should post.Didn`t want to clutter the board with the same thread
-new member-.I guess I started off on this forum on the wrong foot.My apologies.will refrain from posting , thank you for correcting me.

[Calthius]

Mesummerlin is the house in bad shape? You wouldn't be able to rent for $460 a month. Might want to consider keeping the house if it is in decent shape.

[keepmine]

I`m sorry,I saw the heading new to forum and thought that is where I should post.Didn`t want to clutter the board with the same thread
-new member-.I guess I started off on this forum on the wrong foot.My apologies.will refrain from posting , thank you for correcting me.

Oh for heavens sake! Nobody said you should stop posting and you didn't start off on the wrong foot. You and the OP in this thread will get more concise answers if you'll just start a new thread with questions that pretain to your situation.

[mesummerlin]

Mesummerlin is the house in bad shape? You wouldn't be able to rent for $460 a month. Might want to consider keeping the house if it is in decent shape.

Well, another problem I forgot to include is that we had to make 4 separate claims on our homeowner's insurance (like I said- we had a REAL BAD couple of months) and our insurance company is dropping us. We're trying to find a different company but if we can't find something reasonable (or anyone to cover us at all) I don't want to keep the house... god forbid something happen and we're unisnured. We'd be right back in the same boat we are now.

To answer another poster's question- yes, even with me back at my full income we are still well under the median income for a family of 5 in TN. What I make is definetly a liveable wage- we're just struggling because with all the credit card payments, new 2nd mortgage, and now we have to start paying back our student loans (they've been in deferrment while I've been in school and my husband's just ended a 12 mo forebarance) there's no money left for food or gas.

And another poster's question- No, we're not staying with my mother. We were temporarily in her home while our bathrooms were being cleaned and remodeled after the sewer backup. It's just my husband, me, and our 3 boys.

My husband and I are still talking about whether or not to keep the house- for me it pretty much all comes down to the insurance. If we can get it for a resonable price we'll probably keep the house (if we can.) Once that decision is finally made we plan on consulting with a lawyer. There is one in our town that is a member of the National Association of Bankruptcy Lawyers. He'll probably be a bit more pricey than the ones that aren't but I'll bet it's worth it.

How much should we expect to pay for a consultation?

[mesummerlin]

Oh, and also, thank you guys so much. This is all really helpful!

[Naomi]

Also- we have 3 vehicles. They are all paid off, daily drivers, and collectively worth around $5500. Do you know if we would be able to keep all 3?

From the link eddiep posted, TN doesn't have a specific auto exemption...so don't know enough to tell you how that works.

There is a $4000 wild card exemption though that can be used on any property. Not sure if you only get the 1 wildcard or it's doubled if you both file.
Someone else on here probably can tell you.

[eddiep]

To answer another poster's question- yes, even with me back at my full income we are still well under the median income for a family of 5 in TN. What I make is definetly a liveable wage- we're just struggling because with all the credit card payments, new 2nd mortgage, and now we have to start paying back our student loans (they've been in deferrment while I've been in school and my husband's just ended a 12 mo forebarance) there's no money left for food or gas.

I didn't mean to imply that you would not be able to pay your bills, I just wanted to make sure you didn't go over the median income if you wait now that your income has increased. It was just about timing.

[eddiep]

I`m sorry,I saw the heading new to forum and thought that is where I should post.Didn`t want to clutter the board with the same thread
-new member-.I guess I started off on this forum on the wrong foot.My apologies.will refrain from posting , thank you for correcting me.

Did you start your own thread? You have every right to ask questions, and many (including myself) have inadverdantly hijacked a thread, dont worry about it. We would love to answer your questions if we can.

[LuciluS]

mesummerlin:

I found this website which states you can double exemptions in TN: I listed part of the website here. Read paragraph 3.http://www.bankruptcycorner.com/bankruptcy-law/tennessee-bankruptcy-exemptions.php

TThe State of Tennessee has state bankruptcy exemptions available for those filing for bankruptcy protection. Federal bankruptcy exemptions are not available.There is property that you can exempt or protect from creditors when you file bankruptcy in Tennessee. After you file for bankruptcy, this property can be kept. Be aware that there are certain debts, which you will not be able to erase in bankruptcy. These are identified as Non-dischargeable Debts.

There are some limits on certain exemptions such as equity that you have in a home or in a vehicle. The difference between the cost of the item and the amount owed on the item is the definition of equity. If the item, such as home or vehicle, is secured by a loan and payments are made on time, the equity is protected by your exemptions. A debtor must generally pay the trustee the value of the non-exempt property to keep the property. If you choose to keep the property, continual timely payments ensure that the property is protected through the bankruptcy.

For married couples filing jointly in bankruptcy, each can claim a full set of exemptions, unless otherwise noted.

Contact a proven Tennessee bankruptcy attorney today for a detailed list of exemptions and how they would apply to your case.


However, it is always best to see the advice of An Attorney.

Luci