Well I already messed up.. Guess I should at least prepare for BK

[bkfiler]

was that were the 80K was gonna come from in your post? i guess i wouldnt count on it if thats the case.

[StaciMM]

I agree that waiting til 07 to file could be a waste. Perhaps start consulting with attorneys once your last cash advance/transfer check is at the 12 month mark.

[JimH]

bkfiler, The little piggy that went to market needs some attention.

[bkfiler]

roflmao!

[Genenco]

I will keep this as brief as possible but as detailed.

I have been in therapy for 9 months now for compulsive gambling on Welbutrin for 3 weeks as well. It has been very hard.. But with the help of my wife and family I have not gambled in over 8 months..

Back in Jan of 05, I amassed a total credit card debit of 53k perhaps half in balance transfer checks made out to myself and deposited into my checking account. The other half spent at the casino but not showing as a cash advices only as internet purchases. I have paid on all 6 accounts on time and the full minimum payment for 6 months without putting any new charges on any of them.. However my mortgage just was raised $350 per month and I am no longer getting overtime and the credit card payments are not something I can make anymore... and keep a roof over my families head.

I live in Illinois

Asses ts are my home which I moved into in June of 2004. Amount owed on the home is $198k Resale is about $218K.. There is a Special Assessment attached to the property by the city in the amount of $23k which is basically a loan through the city which has to be repaid over 20 years, the put in the infrastructure in the sub-division instead of the builder.. This amount was not financed into my home loan just a note I had to sign at closing to acknowledge the debit and lean on property. I am not sure if this is taken into account when determining equity.

2003 Dodge Durango.. Amount owed $23K Blue book Value $13K

No large saving account and I have a 401K with $2500

Home loan payment is $1225 Never been late
HELOC payment is $253 Never been late
Car note is $575 Never been late
Plus..Food, electricity, and other essentials..

My weekly take home is $645

That is it for assets..

I did lie on my credit card applications about my yearly earnings.. I make about 50k a year and I was putting down 80k...I am afraid this will be used to show fraud or something of that nature which I read about on some BK board..

These cards had been maxed out before to the sum of $40k and I had paid off the debit with money taken from a real estate deal..Then slipped back into the gambling..

Does it sound like I am a candidate for Chapter 7 ??

Trust me folks, this is a very shameful time in my life.. Bk is my last resort and one I would not take at all if not for my family.. I believe in people paying for their mistakes.. But I can not make my family pay for mine and put them in the gutter.. Hence the BK 7..

I appreciate all of your time and input..

Here is my basic plan... I have closed my checking account and have been added to my wife's checking account. This is for two reason.. One, I can not be in control of money for obvious reasons.. Two.. To not have to show all those large cash transactions through my checking account to the courts.. I am going to make small payments nothing near the minimum on some cards for a couple more months.. Total payments on all cards is over 2k a month.. Which is not something I can do any longer.. Then I am going to stop paying.. This will go on until Jan 07.. By this time I am sure cards would have been charged off or I will be getting sued by this point.. At this point I will file BK giving it well over a year since my last charge on the card.. and having over a year attached to my wife's checking account..I know I have messed up my finances really bad.. But I figure if I am going to claim BK to save my home, I might as well make sure I make it as painless as possible.

Thanks again

Badgambler...Well, if compulsive gamblers like us were lucky, we wouldn't be bad hey?

I would suggest NOT waiting....The longer you wait, the worse IT WILL become.

The phones WILL start ringing and ring and ring. Sure, Caller ID will be useful, but do you really want to be afraid to pick up the phone?

I'd suggest a sit down with 3-5 lawyers...I am VERY proud of you for your confession to your wife and us..It is not and never shall be a easy thing to do..Believe me, I know you feel the weight of admitting your weakness, gives you hope to face another day of triumph.

Let the lawyers sift through all this. Their advice (Free) can give you a better picture of what could, may and will happen.

Even if forced into a Ch 13, it ends, in time it ends.

Best wishes to you and keep coming back.

[FoolAndHisMoney]

Thanks first off for reading that entire thing and offering your opinion.. It is greatly appreciated..

As far as the checking account. It will be over 1 year since I had it when I actually file for BK. I am about a year out and still in the early planning stages. I have not even really started to be harrassed by my creditors yet.

I took the means test and fall far under the 100 disposal income per month catergory.. I would much prefer to make $100 payments for three years then go through this whole thing..

Once again thanks for the input.

Are you below your states median income? If not and you file for a chapter 13 it's 5 years. 3 years are for debtors below the median that need to file a chapter 13.

[jennga]

Badgambler, congrats on abstaining from a very addictive activity. I know this story all to well and have not gambled myself since July. I filed early Sept and have since been discharged and closed

I totally agree with others who say talk to an attny. I would recommend someone who has some advanced certifications in bk as they will know the new laws much better. My bk lawyer was just so great and non-judgemental about the gambling. He said it happens all the time and even let me know that mine was not near what he has dealt with in other cases.

Yes, I agree, it feels shameful but you are turning it around, and believe me there are more of us around here than you realize. Just think of all the addicted gamblers who won't get this chance to turn it around.

In my experience, the lawyer looked at my checking accounts therefore the trustee never looked at them. My gambling was not in the same ballpark but that was only because I had maxed every single credit card over the years or I would have.

Best advice, continue to abstain from gambling and see an attny who is truly educated in the bk process. Not those flim-flam agencies advertised in the Sunday paper or on TV.

[FoolAndHisMoney]

The credit application income "lying thing" isn't that much of an issue with time between the applying and filing for bk. The only red flags with this would be a $20k a year person with $100k of debt and that person never made much more then 20k in his life. Other then that I wouldn't worry too much.

I find that there is no reason for anyone to ever lie in a credit application. In some cases they usually check your employer anyway.

[bkfiler]

The only red flags with this would be a $20k a year person with $100k of debt and that person never made much more then 20k in his life.

ok good! so its ok for a $10K a year person to put $200K then. phewwww!

[FoolAndHisMoney]

ok good! so its ok for a $10K a year person to put $200K then. phewwww!

Sure! That's ok

[bkfiler]

a creditor can object at any time to any charge they want. that 70 days is just a 'law' that hurts you. it means that you are going to have to prove you didnt know you were going to file bk. how in the hell you gonna do that i dont know. put youself on the stand and question youself lol. anyways, after that period its the creditor that has to prove you knew you were going tofile or that its a 'fraudulent charge'. its the same thing they have already been doing before.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

BK, that pic is just so wrong bro, so very wrong

[FoolAndHisMoney]

OK, this is a twist I didn't understand....anything over 70 days old, the credit card company has to prove you had no intention of paying it off by filing bankruptcy. Do you know how they go about proving this?

It's hard for them to prove it in most cases. If you had routine charging habits and suddenly these habits changed 4 or 5 months before filing and it was mostly luxury goods or cash advances then they may dispute it if it was large enough to matter. They usually negotiate terms with your lawyer like pay 50% no interest for the amount presumed to be fraud. If you did the above and months later you lost your job or became a victim of circumstances beyond your control, then they would have a more difficult time proving their case. If you charge with no or very little income they could prove you had no intentions of paying them back. That's the key, proving to the court you had no intention of paying them back. The more time between activity, the less chance they will dispute.

[bkfiler]

they never really prove anything. the make all sorts of stories up. but before they they usualy contact your attorney and try to settle for the disputed charges. the rest of it gets discharged as normal. thats the good news.

they know an attorney costs extra money for you. so they play the game. depending on the amount they are looking for will depend on if you settle or not. remember, it costs them money to go to court to. and if you win you will have to pay their charges. and if you lose you most often wont have to pay their charges to go to court. that is becuase they neve really truely proved that you commited fraud without a doubt. the judge usually lets their charges go unpaid and fines you the actual amount your charged listed in the complaint.

stories. they can make anything up they want. its a ploy to get you to settle. settlements start around full price of course and then typically end around 2/3 of the amount they want. payments, no payments, interest no interest, etc.

the more time you have between the actual objected to charges and the time of the bk the better. 3 months is very iffy. 6 months is much better. 1 year is great. 2 years fantastic and very unlikey they will make a peep.

remerber that its a sliding scale with the amount factored in. 1 year less likey for $1000, but for $15K then it becomes more likley again.

its about what they perceive as a good chance to get some money. thats all it boils down too.

complaints. they will make any type of complaint they can. its not about goood and evil. its about money. they run the numbers and see if there is an angle to the case that will get them their cash. its not about the truth.

how do they go about doing it? they will spin their story and pray the judge buys into it. things like you were using your credit cards up to their limits, you were unemployed and using your credit cards anyway, you made cash advances to help pay your bills, your only made payments for 3 months after you charge a large amount on the credit card, etc.

honestly, its all stuff that we all do anyway. they just try to put a spin on it to win.

[FoolAndHisMoney]

I think a great defense against charging near the limit would be the constant mailings everyone gets. It's either balance transfer offers, convenience checks, 1 card representative told me after I did a balance transfer 2 years ago to "make sure I use the card at least once a month" to keep the interest rate low or it will go to 15% from 4%. I called others just to ask questions and get a line that "I qualify for a low interest balance transfer". I only had $1000 left and they are asking me to transfer it. I should have saved all the mailings and recorded all the conversations to give to the judge in case it's ever needed.