Some Facts:
--Live in Michigan
--Married 31 year with 2 adult children
--Wife retired from K-Mart after 30+ years
--I retired from Auto Manufacturing after 30 years.
We are in our mid 50's with me on permanent disability (SSDI/Medicare) and my wife working a part-time job to supplement our fixed income of $2,000/Mo. We lost the bulk of our retirement savings when both of our companies (K-Mart/G.M.) went bankrupt and of course decided not to pay common shareholders. We accumulated way to much unsecured debt and were robbing Peter to partially pay Paul. I could no longer handle the phone calls, letters and threats and we finally decided to see a Lawyer and investigate Bankruptcy and decided to go with Chapter 7. Following is the time line and general thoughts about our road to C7. The Lawyer filed our paperwork the second week of June 2012 and our 341 was completed 9/7/12.
1-----Decided to file for chapter 7. There were a lot of tears involved but our marriage retirement happiness, and my mental health were on the line. As I am disabled I was at home all day listening to the phone ring 4 times and hour for 12 hours a day. I was ready to make the decision to check into a mental health unit because of the depression. I didn't but I did see my doctor for help. During the time frame of this process my weight dropped from 198 to 157 in 6 months. My wife is much stronger as she says she barely lost a night's sleep.
2-----We found a local lawyer after interviewing a few. His fee was $1,760.00 and that included all court costs. It took us almost 2 months to save the money for the fee but was well worth it. We could have borrowed the money from my parents but we had made the decision to tell no one of our situation. We figured that we made the problem and it was up to us to solve it. Also, my parents are in their 80's and I didn't want to burden them with undue stress.
3-----The lawyer got the ball rolling and we submitted what seemed like enough paperwork to choke a bulimic elephant.
4-----We were called to the Lawyers office to review the paperwork that was going to be submitted to the court. I'm glad we did. The paperwork had us reaffirming the house and not the cars and had my wife's social security number wrong. It was corrected and we went back to do it again and believe me, we read every word! ("Yes Virginia, there is a Lawyer that makes a mistake")
5----- Then came the wait for a 341 to be scheduled. The wait was worse on me than my wife. I suffer Bi-Polar and have been sober for 5 years after a 30 year drinking career. I had to find ways to stay positive and sober. It was not easy but I pushed myself and with my wife's help and love came out of it in a positive state of mind. To people with depression and/or alcoholism; don't be ashamed to ask for the help of a professional!!
6-----At the five week mark we received a letter from the court and lawyer with the scheduled date of the hearing. A happy day indeed.
7----- 2 weeks before the hearing the Lawyer's office called and told us the Lawyer had a "conflict" in his schedule. We had two choices. Go to court with a Lawyer we had never met or reschedule the 341. We choose the reschedule. I was irate but we are this far along so I let go of the anger.
8-----Things went smoothly at the 341, no creditors showed up.We gave her our Drivers License and Social Security cards. Other than name rank and serial number the only thing she asked was if my truck was 2 or 4 wheel drive. The process lasted 6 minutes. I have no idea how that would be of importance.
9-----Got home from the 341 feeling great, stress was immediately reduced. The guilt is gone. No depression. No drinking. I feel free.
Thank you all for the help!!!! I'll be around if you have any question. I love this site and maybe I will be able to help someone along the line.
ASD...
--Live in Michigan
--Married 31 year with 2 adult children
--Wife retired from K-Mart after 30+ years
--I retired from Auto Manufacturing after 30 years.
We are in our mid 50's with me on permanent disability (SSDI/Medicare) and my wife working a part-time job to supplement our fixed income of $2,000/Mo. We lost the bulk of our retirement savings when both of our companies (K-Mart/G.M.) went bankrupt and of course decided not to pay common shareholders. We accumulated way to much unsecured debt and were robbing Peter to partially pay Paul. I could no longer handle the phone calls, letters and threats and we finally decided to see a Lawyer and investigate Bankruptcy and decided to go with Chapter 7. Following is the time line and general thoughts about our road to C7. The Lawyer filed our paperwork the second week of June 2012 and our 341 was completed 9/7/12.
1-----Decided to file for chapter 7. There were a lot of tears involved but our marriage retirement happiness, and my mental health were on the line. As I am disabled I was at home all day listening to the phone ring 4 times and hour for 12 hours a day. I was ready to make the decision to check into a mental health unit because of the depression. I didn't but I did see my doctor for help. During the time frame of this process my weight dropped from 198 to 157 in 6 months. My wife is much stronger as she says she barely lost a night's sleep.
2-----We found a local lawyer after interviewing a few. His fee was $1,760.00 and that included all court costs. It took us almost 2 months to save the money for the fee but was well worth it. We could have borrowed the money from my parents but we had made the decision to tell no one of our situation. We figured that we made the problem and it was up to us to solve it. Also, my parents are in their 80's and I didn't want to burden them with undue stress.
3-----The lawyer got the ball rolling and we submitted what seemed like enough paperwork to choke a bulimic elephant.
4-----We were called to the Lawyers office to review the paperwork that was going to be submitted to the court. I'm glad we did. The paperwork had us reaffirming the house and not the cars and had my wife's social security number wrong. It was corrected and we went back to do it again and believe me, we read every word! ("Yes Virginia, there is a Lawyer that makes a mistake")
5----- Then came the wait for a 341 to be scheduled. The wait was worse on me than my wife. I suffer Bi-Polar and have been sober for 5 years after a 30 year drinking career. I had to find ways to stay positive and sober. It was not easy but I pushed myself and with my wife's help and love came out of it in a positive state of mind. To people with depression and/or alcoholism; don't be ashamed to ask for the help of a professional!!
6-----At the five week mark we received a letter from the court and lawyer with the scheduled date of the hearing. A happy day indeed.
7----- 2 weeks before the hearing the Lawyer's office called and told us the Lawyer had a "conflict" in his schedule. We had two choices. Go to court with a Lawyer we had never met or reschedule the 341. We choose the reschedule. I was irate but we are this far along so I let go of the anger.
8-----Things went smoothly at the 341, no creditors showed up.We gave her our Drivers License and Social Security cards. Other than name rank and serial number the only thing she asked was if my truck was 2 or 4 wheel drive. The process lasted 6 minutes. I have no idea how that would be of importance.
9-----Got home from the 341 feeling great, stress was immediately reduced. The guilt is gone. No depression. No drinking. I feel free.
Thank you all for the help!!!! I'll be around if you have any question. I love this site and maybe I will be able to help someone along the line.
ASD...
Discharged 11/04/2014 
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