2 questions ?

[ahall]

Has anyone had experience at going to court to try to fight a motion of abuse and dimissal of a chapter 7--If so --how did it turn out for you? Has anyone ever won a chapter 7 going in front of a judge?

ALso if your case is dismissed-How long until the creditors start coming back at you? I have only cc debt. Can you really bargain with these credit card companies and pay 1/2 of what you owe? We have 401 k money that we could bargain with, not enough to pay off all debt in full. I know they can't garnish my wages in NC but they can come after your bank account. I am so stressed. All we can do now is plead our case to the judge-atleast we have a little time -court date in august. I hate myself for being in this mess.

[newbie2]

Has anyone had experience at going to court to try to fight a motion of abuse and dimissal of a chapter 7--If so --how did it turn out for you? Has anyone ever won a chapter 7 going in front of a judge?

ALso if your case is dismissed-How long until the creditors start coming back at you? I have only cc debt. Can you really bargain with these credit card companies and pay 1/2 of what you owe? We have 401 k money that we could bargain with, not enough to pay off all debt in full. I know they can't garnish my wages in NC but they can come after your bank account. I am so stressed. All we can do now is plead our case to the judge-atleast we have a little time -court date in august. I hate myself for being in this mess.

Once the creditors get notice of your dismissal they'll come out of the woodwork again. I'm sure it's possible to settle with them, but if you're talking about taking 401K money to do it please be careful. You'll have tax penalties for that, plus the tax consequences of settling for less than full balance owed.

Good luck on your court date, I hope the judge will see things your way. Reading between the lines it sounds like you don't want to convert to a 13?

[ahall]

Thanks-we really can't do a 13-or I don't think so. We have parent plus loans for 4 kids and we are not behind-I don't think they can be paid outside of a 13-also we are not behind on our house -and would want to pay it outside of a 13--on top of that my spouse is a sales rep who has to spend our money to travel and then be reimbursed from his company so I don't see how that can "fit" into a 13. We are in our late 50's my spouse will be 60 this year so I guess if we have to so the 401 k thing -that would be our only way to have any peace of mind. I doubt if the judge will see it our way--He will probably side with the BA but it's bought us a little more time. I hope they have to sell our body parts when when we die to try and finish paying off the parent plus loans ---

[LMinNC]

we are in NC too and had a Sept 7th court date and we just got info that the Bankruptcy Administrator withdrew his motion to dismiss! We are just waiting on a discharge - hope you have had good news too!

Good luck

[tcreegan]

Hello ahall,

The presumption of abuse comes from an over-median +DMI on the means test and/or schedules I & J.
Do you have an attorney? You should have known going in if there was a presumption of abuse......

BUT.....given all that, you are current on the house and want to keep it, you are current and the ParentPlus loans which are probably can't be discharged, so you are filing for only the cc debt? BK is probably not your best move....

......go to your local consumer credit counseling bureau. They are a non-profit agency that can help you negotiate a settlement of your cc debt. Beware! There are many "we can cut your credit bills in half!" folks out there, many are predatory. Look for a good non-profit, community help type agency. You can probably get all the cc's into one, affordable payment.

Best of luck with all this,

Tom in Colo

[Yme]

ahall,

First off: don't hate yourself for this mess. It sounds like you and your husband were doing what any parents would do to educate their children. I know a little of how you feel and we just can't go there --to that place of shame!

Second: I was told by someone who once worked in debt negotiation (not to be confused with debt consolidation) that once the creditor has charged off the balance (a few months after non-pay) and sent it to collections, you can negotiate your debt to 1/2 or even less. You need to be ruthless and stick to a number. Example: if you owe $10k and all you have is $3K. They may take $8k but stick to $3k and don't give in. Does it really work? I don't know, this is just what I was told. Also, I hear it's not a good idea to work with debt negotiation companies. They tell you to send your cc payment to them, once there's enough money piled up, they negotiate with cc companies. And like the other poster said, be careful of scams.
Good luck and keep your chin up. I keep telling myself that there's light at the end of this tunnel.