is no unforseen financial event a problem?

[Moneypenny]

Hi,

my debt is consumer debt with no major calamity in my family effecting anything. I am under median and have an I & J that should, just barely, check out I am hoping.

But there is nothing about my financial situation that is sudden or unexpected. Unless it is unexpected that anyone could be so stupid. That is perhaps the calamity, that I turned out so stupid.

I have been reading some judgements in favor of Trustee and it seems like a part of the decision against filers can be that there was no unforeseen event.

any one have any insights?

thanks,

Mr. MP

[mtbc]

Often things won't be much contested by creditors if you were honest when you applied for the credit and made at least minimum payments for a few months after incurring the debt. A lot of us let our payment obligations force us well below IRS local standards. That there were no recent unforeseen events is, I suspect, often a case of people taking way too long to realize they should have filed bankruptcy.

[leena]

You are pretty much in the same place as a lot of people filing BK. The calamity on CC's tend to be that people charge to much over a long period of time and realize that can;t pay. You are also below median income, and if you have a decent attorney who knows how to list your expenses, and you have "normal" living expenses (you are not living in Mom's basement free) and no assets you should have no trouble with your BK. I have heard of a few particularly tough districts that grill each and every case, but those seem to be very few.

[Moneypenny]

There is a great attorney in town but i dont have the money for him.
My situation is just that, I didn't pay much attention (stupidly) to my credit behavior, I made minimum payments for 18 years while my minimum payment rate was lowered and lowered along the way, without my noticing it, and I just got by all the time while my balance balooned. until i woke up and realized too late that I couldn't pay it.

so, this is not going to be a problem?

[leena]

There is a great attorney in town but i dont have the money for him.
My situation is just that, I didn't pay much attention (stupidly) to my credit behavior, I made minimum payments for 18 years while my minimum payment rate was lowered and lowered along the way, without my noticing it, and I just got by all the time while my balance balooned. until i woke up and realized too late that I couldn't pay it.

so, this is not going to be a problem?

My best guess and non lawyer opinion is that no, it is no problem. Only rarely is someone grilled as to *how* they got into the financial circumstances to file a BK. Generally, that happens only if you had a high income in the recent past (as in past 2 years) or have a debt level that is "red flagged" - 80-100K not including mortgage or student loans in most districts. Even in those situations, the behavior of trustees varies widely.

A lot of attorneys will do a free BK consult. Maybe you could check into those while you get your money together to file your BK. It will put your mind at ease.

[leena]

Oh, and let me add one more thing: calm down! It will be okay, I promise! I was a basket case before I filed and then again before my 341. You get some great info this site, but occasionally you run into something that your fevered mind can take out of context that scares you to bits. I think most BK's wind up being pretty simple matters. I swear, the hardest thing is getting all the docs together the attorney asks for (pay stubs, tax returns, W2's, and so on).

[HakunaMatata]

I didn't experience a grand financial tragedy prior to filing. In fact, I looked better on paper when I filed than I did during the previous two years. I was slightly under the median and fearful my schedules would show significant DMI (since I had adopted a pattern of self-neglect in order to pay creditors). My Trustee never questioned my BK motivation, didn't ask how I managed to formerly allocate significant funds toward unsecured payments, and didn't question my schedules. I regard my filing as a proactive business measure. I filed to avoid having my financial life collapse.

[Moneypenny]

yeah thanks. i come to this forum as soon as some worry snags in my mind. Hope you dont mind all the questions, but your answers do put your mind at ease.

I am doing this as a business decision for sure. And i got in this mess through my own stupidity plus some help from the CC's.

thing is, I actually am really good at dealing with stress and worry but something about this process just takes over no matter what.

still, a lot of the answers i got here did save me some mis-steps and some were absolutely essental.

thanks so much.

MMP