To Wait or Not to Wait?!?

[my2girls]

We are currently over on the means test (by about $8K yearly) and have only had 1 of 5 attorney's tell us they would try for a 7 for us. I am terrified of the 13 payment. My income will drop substantially in September and we should be able to comfortably pass the means test by December. Our DMI calculations (I ran the NOLO calculations) seem to qualify us for a 7 even though we are above on the means but only 1 attorney said he would go that route which makes me nervous...is it really necessary to see a 6th attorney!

We were served by our Credit union today and are wondering if we can buy enough time to stall until then.

Any insight, advice? Thanks in advance.

[drowning123]

Wait.

[HighUnder]

How long so you have to answer the complaint by your credit union? Answering should buy you some time. You should probably ask one of the attorneys you've spoken to how to handle this suit in order to buy more time so you can hold off on your filing. Best of luck!

[LadyInTheRed]

Our DMI calculations (I ran the NOLO calculations) seem to qualify us for a 7 even though we are above on the means but only 1 attorney said he would go that route which makes me nervous...is it really necessary to see a 6th attorney!

You can probably delay filing until December, especially if you file an answer. Even if the credit union gets a judgment it is unlikely they'll get very far in collections before you file BK. But, how many of the 5 attorneys actually ran the means test rather than simply say your income is above median? It is very common to be over median income but still pass the means test. We read too often of attorneys who tell potential clients "you can't file Chap 7 because your income is over median." It isn't that simple.

[frogger]

Wait. December is only a few short months away.

[my2girls]

Thanks everyone. Lady in Red you are so right. They all eyeballed our numbers except for the one who said he'd file the 7 and shot from the hip it seemed with their advice. I've got a couple questions to post about answering the summons I'll post elsewhere. You guys keep my sanity...Thank God for this forum.

[karm43]

Of coarse they make money on chap 13. 8000 is not that much.

[btbeme]

My two cents worth...

It is my opinion (and a fairly popular opinion) that the Means Test has two sides - one that says that you must qualify the day you file, and the other side that says you must figure out how to qualify on the day you file. In other words, not passing the Means Test (and being tortured with a Ch 13) can largely be chalked up to a lack of planning (I don't like the word "strategy" since it implies that you WANT to do a BK); and more often than not a lack of planning can be chalked up to waiting too long to have considered bankruptcy as a fallback.

I first uttered the word "bankruptcy" about 18 months before we filed. Certainly, most of that 18 months was spent trying to avoid it; however, I made sure that, should we need to do so, that the outcome would be worth the pain. This forum, a few good words of advice from several attorneys, and other research taught me how to conform to the Means Test well ahead of time and avoid the pitfalls and traps that commonly delay or flush a Ch 7. There is nothing worse than trying to revive your life after denying the symptoms of financial disaster for too long. While you may not have complete control of a Ch 7 once it is filed, you can absolutely clean it up, point it in the right direction, and surround yourself with airbags before launching...as long as you have enough time.

So, I say wait. Being sued is not a reason to jump before you know your parachute will open correctly. There are plenty of ways to delay any action from a suit and buy the time you need.