What do you think???

[DaisysMom]

I owe about 25 - 30 K on personal loans and CC's. BoA and Beneficial are the largest with Capital One (4 cards) standing in line.

I am self employed ..part-time and my husband only rec's disability (untouchable). I have about 10-15 K equity in my home.....way under exemption. I have no other assets except a 2005 car with 175 K miles on it (under exemption amount also.)

I haven't paid anything on my loans & CC's since Jan 2009. I haven't been sued yet...only rec. the general phone calls begging for money and awesome deals if I want to settle, etc. (Which I would never do.)

Question is, if you think I can skate through like I am....or should I go ahead...bite the bullet and file???

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!

DM

[Pandora]

while you think you're "skating through" - in all actuality, you're not. Are you judgment proof? Can wages be garnished at all? Liens placed on house?

Eventually everything will catch up and you'll get hit with something down the line.

[DaisysMom]

First...TY for answering my post!! I really appreciate all of the info I have gotten here.

I agree with you....that makes alot of sense. However, would it hurt to wait until I actually get sued and then file. I know I'm just delaying in inevitable, but I am not ready to pull the trigger yet. I am a caregiver for an elderly relative as well as working as much as I can..plus caring for my disabled husband. My plate is over full. Adding the stress of filing BK gives me the shakes.

I know I could do it...but I just want to take my time.

DM

[enginegirl]

However, would it hurt to wait until I actually get sued and then file. I know I'm just delaying in inevitable, but I am not ready to pull the trigger yet. I am a caregiver for an elderly relative as well as working as much as I can..plus caring for my disabled husband. My plate is over full. Adding the stress of filing BK gives me the shakes.
DM

the longer you wait, the more time it will be until it is all over and done with! I truly wish I has started the process a year ago when I realized things were heading that way.... I would be 17 months in on a 60 month plan...

maybe if you start collecting the docs you will need now so when the inevitable happens you will be prepared and read read read this site so that you will fully aware of the processes and the pre-planning (wish I had!!!!)

Personally, I found the stress of the daily calls and waiting to be served papers waaaaay more stressful than the BK process... at least with the process there is an end date.. waiting to be served can happen anywhere, anytime, anyplace... ( they got me at 11pm on a sunday night!!.. better than work I guess!).
Good luck to you and with whatever your decision is!

[treehugger1]

There is no way to know how "waiting" will play out. I stopped paying some creditors in Sept. 2006, and by spring 2008, I stopped paying everyone. I have been sued and judgments and wage garnishment. This was my choice. I, too, know I will file BK in the future, but still no hurry after 4 years. My situation is somewhat different than others on this board, but it is not different when i look at other financial situations around my region. Many folks play the waiting game. This seems particularly true when it comes to Chapter 13.

The fact that you have equity in a house presents a slightly different issue as to what you are willing to tolerate. You can probably expect a lien that you night need to strip in a future BK. I would suggest you speak with a few BK attorneys and see what your options are if you donlt file.

I got great advice from initial consultations and even spoke to a CPA about saving as much as I could via my state exemptions.

[Pandora]

Probably your best bet is to meet with an attorney and discuss the pro's and con's of waiting vs. filing now. Most consults are free of charge, and as enginegirl stated, in the meantime, start gathering everything you would need, just in case.

Hope everything works out for you, it is such a stressful time as we all know. Hang in there!

[frogger]

Keep on skating....... Get an answering machine for the calls and just hold out. File when your situation starts to improve. If you're broke now, bk really changes nothing.

[Freddy03]

If you know that you will file BK eventully then I would do it before they start suing. I wish I filed before being sued. Being sued is not fun. It's very stressful and time consuming.

FYI: Beneficial is quick to sue right after the 1 year default date. At least in FL they are.

Good Luck to you

[ryan]

There is no "right' answer here, but I would tend to think about continuing things the way they are.

One thing I would do is look into how to protect your bank acct. May want to look into Cash Cards or out-of-area banking, not for immediate use but for down the road (if sued).

If you're self -employed its very hard for creditor to garnish wages and you seem reasonably exempt from other creditor actions. So, if one or more sues you, then you will still probably have months to file BK as well.
I don't see how you lose in the scenario of waiting. All of these 'what-ifs' only matter if they sue and get a judgment, so if you can ignore the phone calls, as Frogger said, and theres still no lawsuit (which is completely unpredictable) why not skate for awhile?

I also don't believe there is any wrong decision here either.