considering chapt 7

[adkid22]

Hi guys-

I am new and have been trying to brief through the stickys and I'll continue reading, so forgive me if I post something that has already been discussed.

I am in considerable debt and I am considering filing BK. I am 28 single.

I have already established my residence (living with a friend), my bank account, and my employment is not going to be an issue.

I have multiple judgments for approx 23k
medical bills for around 3k
other bills (cable, gas, phone bill, etc) that is around 2k

I decreased my spending in order to see if I could get a grip on my finances and ended up taking a few pay day loans around september . 1 was for 1000, 1 for 300, and the other for 500.

The 1000 dollar one and 300 dollar one went into default due to me not being able to meet the obligation. (i had a few sucessful ones before then paid back). The 500 dollar one I have kept up to date cause I was trying to pay them all off, but it didn't work out.

Currently one of my is being paid through wage garnishment (about 2500 total so far) and the 2 others haven't had an action on them.

I currently own 1 car that I do not owe any money on (paid 3600 dollars for it) and no other assets besides a computer and my bed, etc.

Also, my income will significantly drop starting January 1st . I took a lower paying position in my company since the alternative would be unemployment. this will take me from 37k a year to around 25 (18/hr, down to 12/hr).

I know student loans are not able to be discharged, but I was attending school and have around 60k in student loans. about my 4th year in, my father passed away and I ended up dropping out not finishing my degree. This has caused me not to be able to take better paying jobs.

I probably jumbled this up a lot or missed information. I guess my questions are

1) does this look like a good BK candidate
2) what steps should I be taking?
3) I know there are a lot of stickys, so if you can provide me some help on the ones i need to research, i'd appreciate

thanks for taking the time to read my thread

[tcreegan]

Hi adkid22,

From your post it seems like a pretty easy Ch 7 case. One concern would be making sure you can live post-BK w/o credit.

What you need to get for research is the NOLO book (www.nolo.com) It is a step-by-step guide on filing a BK, great resource.

As you go through the NOLO book, post any questions here, lots of good folks to help out!

Tom in Colo

[Peeps]

A couple things that I can recommend, being a new to this myself:

Consult with attorneys about the payday loans, garnishments, and credit card use... they will probably have some questions about when the debt was incurred, what your payment history looks like, or if there were items that might be considered luxuries. Some of that info will help determine if there are issues that might complicate a filing. Depending on what they're from, some garnishments/judgments may not be dischargable. Some attorneys do free initial consultations - they don't go into the nittygritties, but you can often ask general questions about where they see issues with your situation. I listed everything out on a piece of paper before going to see my attorneys and it helped them zero-in on problem areas really quickly.

Find out the median income in your state for bankruptcy. I just googled it when I was trying to find it for my location. It's one of the first tools to use to determine eligibility for a CH7. There are also lots of threads on this topic, so use the search box at the top of the screen to learn more about options that you have even if your income doesn't fall under the median.

Have you looked into a hardship deferrment for student loans? Your lender could help you with that. There may be some options to keep that beast under control while you deal with the more urgent issues at hand.

I'm sure others on the forum with more experience will have even more ideas for you. Best of luck.

[ValleYum]

Here ya go adkid22!!

Median Income for Ohio for 1 = $41,724 per the U.S. Trustee website - so you are presumed eligible even at your current income.

http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20100315/bci_data/median_income_table.htm

One Thought: Since he is living with his friend, will he have to include his friend's income on his means test??

Do you guys have a written "lease agreement" for your stay with him, adkid22?

Peeps is so right about asking about the garnishments, payday loans and other debt. Make a list of questions and take it to your free consults. Make sure you like the "vibe" of the office you are using.

There is tons of help to be had here. READ then read again. Buy the book Tom mentioned. I didn't at first, but did yesterday! It has SO MUCH valuable information in it.

I wish you the best!!

[adkid22]

thanks for the replies guys, I am checking out the resources now.

I do not have a lease agreement with him, but I do pay rent. I will be moving out on my own soon because it's not practical to live there being a single father, but he is helping me so I can get on my feet.

Would it be wise for him to write up something? I can have him give me some type of sub lease, but he is renting himself, so not sure how that would work out

I do not really have any credit card debt. The judgements were for 2 apts that I couldnt maintain and a car note from a reposession . That is the biggest bulk at 11k, the other 2 are around 5 k each.