Good Morning,made a mistake-New Member

[stikks]

I posted on an existing thread earlier this morning,and was asked to start a new thread,so here goes.

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]

If, you intend to keep the house, I'd do all in my power to stay current on property taxes and any HOA fees.
Here are Il. bk exemptions.

http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/state-laws/illinois/default.aspx

Looks like you have a $4K wildcard that may cover the other vechicle. Since you have a lawyer, don't be afraid to raise these questions with him/her.

[eddiep]

I am not sure if the same rules apply in every state on when a town can move toward foreclosure for unpaid property tax. Chapter 7 will give you a limited amount of time to make up the past due amount, only while the case is opened (90 days). In my case (again not sure if this applies to you) I have to make two payments July and December. Last year we were not able to pay any of our property tax, so one whole year without payment. we recieved notice that they would place a lien on my property on April 20 if they were not paid in full. I believe I would have one year to pay off the lien before it was forced into foreclosure. Since you have only missed one payment so far on the cc, I would pay the tax, postpone the bk until you can save up. The phone will be ringing off the hook, annoying yess!! but for the first six months that is pretty much all they can do. I have not made any payments for 11 months, the only card that sued me was a local credit union. CUs tend to be more aggressive. I hear that most of the big banks will wait a year or longer before they sue you. Once they file suit you will be notified and will be given 30 days to respond, if you choose to respond within the 30 days a hearing date will be set for 30 to 60 days in the future. so what I am saying is you will have 30 to 90 days notice before a judge would be able to hand down a judgement against you on top of the 6 to 12 months before they even file a lawsuit.

You didnt say whether you were filing individual or married. Many states allow you to double the exemptions if you are married and filing together. The trustee is only interested in property that he can make money on that you are not able to exempt. So if you owe more on the house than it is worth he wont take it, make sure that you have a market analysis done prior to filing, you don't want any surprises. The cars are yours to keep if you have enough exemptions to cover them. First find out the value on www.kbb.com - private party value and then check on www.legalconsumer.com or the link keepmine posted above, to see what your exemptions are in your state. Good luck

[NewLifeAhead]

Welcome to the forum Stikks and don't worry it wasn't a long post. We all know here what you are going through when you start missing payments. It's a strange feeling as it goes against what you have been taught though the years. But as you may have already read through these posts, you need to start looking at it as a business decision and realize the relief you will feel once this process is over.

Good luck and wish you well through it all.

[stikks]

thanks for the replies so far-much appreciated-

A couple of more questions.I retained attorney 08-08-09.As stated earlier I had issues with my property tax.On the 26th i paid my first installment of property tax and my homeowners insurance and car insurance.I still owe one more installment on properry tax due 9-4.
I should be able to pay that by the end of the month with a small penalty 1.5%.Mortgage due on 9-1 but will pay 0n 9-9.My question is am going about this right?I need to pay my attorney asap because these phone calls are driving me nuts and I am only 3 weeks late,what happens when I havn`t paid them in 2 months.I probably cant pay attorney in full for 2 months.I refuse to answer the phone,is that O.K.Also I am worried about the creditors suing me before I file.One more question,I do side jobs for extra money(construction).Usually am paid by personal check by homeowner and cash at their bank,is there a problem with this.I recently opened a new checking account at 5th 3rd,but have been banking through citi for 10 years,9-1 I owe them a payment on their mastercard and have a linked account.Should I empty the account and start paying my bills through 53 and just let the citi account sit empty untill I can file.This was a long winded post,sorry for that but am looking for some advice,my lawyer seems sincere but I havn`t paid enough to her so far to get much help,$200 out of $2500 -thanks for your time and insight-

[whipster1]

Empty out ANY accounts where you owe money. Assume that they WILL take it.

Keep the house current, and keep up the payments for the tax.

Turn off the ringer, and put it on an answering machine.

Keep track of those side-job checks you get, you have to show all your income. (Remember since it is self-employment you can also show your expenses)

The rest is smooth sailing

[aljohnson007]

Not only empty the account but formally close it because if you are late on the cc, they could charge your checking account which will reflect a negative balance and that, if not settled, may prevent you from opening new bank accounts in the future.

[justplaintired]

Hi, I am in Indiana and our exemptions appear to be very close, matter of fact you have a little more then we did.

As someone else stated stay current on the mortgage. Get the taxes paid too. Close the bank acct that you also have a loan with. Do it soon.

Far as cars go, Indiana allowed us to use the exemptions we had left on home and wildcard to use for our cars, we have 3 late model cars. Wasn't a problem, look at blue book value and see what they are worth. Did you ask your attorney about them, I would.

Phone will continue to ring, sorry. Far as a lawsuit, you have time. Ask your attorney how to handle phone calls. We had paid our attorney, so he took our calls. Keep current on the house no matter what. Until you actually file, using your grace period, if you are in good standing and have used that date all along you should be fine. We used our grace period for 10 yrs, so before we filed we kept using it.

First thing, move that acct., close it if possible. Second pay your taxes up, keep current on the house, ask attorney if you can use left over exemptions for your cars. Not sure if you are filing alone or have a spouse, if you have a spouse, exemptions can be doubled.

Don't be afraid to talk to your attorney about any concerns either. In the beginning I spoke with our attorney's paralegal alot, she was awesome and calmed my nerves numberous times.

[stikks]

Hi, I am in Indiana and our exemptions appear to be very close, matter of fact you have a little more then we did.

As someone else stated stay current on the mortgage. Get the taxes paid too. Close the bank acct that you also have a loan with. Do it soon.

Far as cars go, Indiana allowed us to use the exemptions we had left on home and wildcard to use for our cars, we have 3 late model cars. Wasn't a problem, look at blue book value and see what they are worth. Did you ask your attorney about them, I would.

Phone will continue to ring, sorry. Far as a lawsuit, you have time. Ask your attorney how to handle phone calls. We had paid our attorney, so he took our calls. Keep current on the house no matter what. Until you actually file, using your grace period, if you are in good standing and have used that date all along you should be fine. We used our grace period for 10 yrs, so before we filed we kept using it.

First thing, move that acct., close it if possible. Second pay your taxes up, keep current on the house, ask attorney if you can use left over exemptions for your cars. Not sure if you are filing alone or have a spouse, if you have a spouse, exemptions can be doubled.

Don't be afraid to talk to your attorney about any concerns either. In the beginning I spoke with our attorney's paralegal alot, she was awesome and calmed my nerves numberous times.

Thank you for the reply,I have a checking plus account with citi that I owe on(kind of an overdraft loan) and a mastercard wth citi.Will I be able to close the account still owing money on the checking plus,
mastercard payment is due tomorrow,I paid the checking plus the minimum payment 4 days ago.I have already opened a checking account with 5th 3rd about 2 weeks ago.Will that account be affected by my issues with citi .I`m not sure I can close the account with citi does anybody have insight on this -thanks again-

[stikks]

I am filing single but I have a live in girlfriend for the last 12.I pay all the bills but she does work part time.She co signed a refi on the house 3 years ago but I pay the mortgage.

very stressed out.thanks for time and help