Thinking about filling for BK

[bugster]

First of all i want to say hi to everyone on this fine forum.

i just started coming to this site yesterday looking for some guidance. the phone calls are starting due to me been behind on some of my CC.

I'm down like 25K in debt mostly on 5 CC and 1 Personal loan.

I'm behind on 2 of the CC. The others are in good standing but and the end of the month im left behind with no money at all.

i'm trying my best no to file for BK for the burden is getting to me.
i make $3000 + a month but just by the end of this week i have to comeup with 1200 to pay 2 CC and not including my aprt rent, car insurance and utlity.

my wife recently had a baby and i was paying all the bills. The day she decided to go back to work, her work place burned down.

We have no savings left. $200 in a Checking Account is all i have left

My credit score has been hurt due to some late payment last time i checked it was 656.

some questions:

Should i file for BK?
Who decides which one to file for? Ch.7 or CH. 13
I have a CC which I got with my wife to build her credit. Would this affect her?

thank you for letting me vent

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Only you can decide if its the right thing to do, but it does sound that way from what you are saying. You file for chapter 7 if you have no assets, you file for chapter 13 if you have disposable income or assets to repay your debts. Personally I would never file for a chapter 13, but if you have valuable possessions in a chapter 7 you can lose them to the court. You can talk about all of it getting some free consultations with a few attorneys, then decide for yourself. And keep in mind when you go to these that some lawyers will try to talk you into a chapter 13 just so they can collect a higher fee.

[bugster]

Only you can decide if its the right thing to do, but it does sound that way from what you are saying. You file for chapter 7 if you have no assets, you file for chapter 13 if you have disposable income or assets to repay your debts. Personally I would never file for a chapter 13, but if you have valuable possessions in a chapter 7 you can lose them to the court. You can talk about all of it getting some free consultations with a few attorneys, then decide for yourself. And keep in mind when you go to these that some lawyers will try to talk you into a chapter 13 just so they can collect a higher fee.

Thanks for the quick response.
No assets here

i filled out a form yesterday from a website to send my case to different lawyers. i got a call this morning and i have setup and Apt. for free counseling on monday.


What can i expect from this 1st appointment?

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Expect anything. Be skeptical of everything you are told. Thank the attorney for their time and tell them you have to sleep on it. Then go see a couple more attorneys. When you find the right one, you will know it, but you have to get a 2nd opinion no matter what. BK is too big a deal to risk it getting messed up.

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

If you file for Bk, be prepared.

Tax forms from the past couple years, call the IRS for transcripts - they are free (it took within 2 weeks to get them in the mail)

6 months of paystubs

Bank statements

hmmm, the more prepared you are before filing, the faster/smoother things will go. Also expect to take Credit Counseling Class, fee usually cost 25-50 bucks (one approved by the courts) nothing more nothing less! I took one the day before I went to see the attorney - literally, and they emailed a certificate.

Good Luck, Catchmeifyoucan

[bugster]

If you file for Bk, be prepared.

Tax forms from the past couple years, call the IRS for transcripts - they are free (it took within 2 weeks to get them in the mail)

6 months of paystubs

Bank statements

hmmm, the more prepared you are before filing, the faster/smoother things will go. Also expect to take Credit Counseling Class, fee usually cost 25-50 bucks (one approved by the courts) nothing more nothing less! I took one the day before I went to see the attorney - literally, and they emailed a certificate.

Good Luck, Catchmeifyoucan

thank you Catchmeifyoucan that's good to know..

1 more question. My paycheck gets deposit into my Bank AC and i know that the CC company can freeze you Ban ACC if you stop paying them... How soon is it that they start doing this

Again i have only miss payments on 2 out 6 CC.

thank you.

[SinkingFast]

Hi Bugster and Welcome to the Forum!

In answer to your Q about Creditors' actions,.......... None of us can tell you when or how long it will take. It varies by Creditor, how much you owe, and any number of unknown factors.

Creditors go thru a process. First they give you a few months to respond to notes on your bills that you've missed payments. Then your acct moves to internal collections. Then the Creditor brings in a 3rd party Collections Agency.

Creditors aren't known for throwing fuel on a useless fire. If you don't have anything to get, they aren't gonna spend the money on legal fees to come after you. It's cheaper and more cost effective for your original Creditors to sell your debt to Zombie Debt Collectors, write you off their books, and move on.

I've seen one poster here get sued after only 5 missed payments. I've seen other people here who didn't pay for a couple of years before they filed BK.

We missed 10 payments before we filed and only 3 of our accts had been moved to Collections Agencies. How much longer we could have gone is anyone's guess.

We had one attny tell us to wait until this coming February to file so we could use our new State's Exemptions. That would have been a year of no payments. Maybe that attny was right and it could have worked for us. We'll never know.

I do know it's such a relief having no CC bills or letters coming in the mail. No more phone calls from Collectors. The peace and quiet is wonderful!

[debtisbad]

I have to agree with sinking fast. Yeah I am depressed about filing bk, but it is peaceful to not get all that sh*t in the mailbox. Also, I realize that I would NEVER have gotten cc paid down and I should have thrown in the towel earlier and saved for my retirement. Would have been alot easier.

[Spartan]

.... I should have thrown in the towel earlier and saved for my retirement. Would have been alot easier.

me too.. I would still have some exempt assets left back then.. sigh... live and learn..