moving and filing

[nazstar]

We have been waiting almost 6 months to file - our income dropped off so we wanted to wait. We were hoping to file next month and then, BAM! My husband's job wants to relocate us from Florida to Indiana. We are above the median for both Florida and Indiana. Our house is in the process of foreclosure (we decided not to keep it). We have 2 small babies and I am a stay at home mom. No assets other than one car that is paid off with a value of about $5000. The rest of our belongings would easily fall into personal exemptions allowances.

They want to move us within 4-6 weeks. That's not a lot of time to prep a move AND a bankruptcy, especially with a newborn. So, we are thinking about waiting to file until we are Indiana.

Here are my questions:
1) Do you have to be a resident of Indiana for a specific length of time?
2) We currently pay 45% of our take home pay in rent - WAAAY too much. When we move, we are looking to knock down that number to 20-30%. However, that screws up our actual expenses, maybe forcing us into a 13. Should we suck it up for a year and rent a place that is comparable to our existing situation so we qualify for a 7 - at least then it will be over within the year vs dragging it out over 5 years.

My thinking here is that if I move to a cheaper place to save $300 a month, but the trustee will just take it for a payment to creditors for the next 5 years, then why not throw it at rent for a year, get my 7 discharge and move on free and clear.

[danaf]

yeah - you'd have to wait 120 days (I believe) before you could file in your new state).

Look at the US Trustees allowable housing expense for where you are going. This should help you determine whether you should rent a more expensive place or not. It goes by family size & county.

I would guess too that Indiana has better exemptions than Florida.

[Frogge]

On legalconsumer.com there is a residency question that pops up when you click on "which state are you a resident of" or something.. and it will explain which state you can file in, and when.

[JRScott]

As Danaf says you have to reside in a state for 4 months before declaring bankruptcy. You would still use FL exemptions in such a filing though. (You have to be the resident of a state for 2 years to use their exemptions).

Obviously you need to move. The 4 month time frame should give you time to learn expenses in the new area. Have you already retained a lawyer? If so then you'll need to tell them of the situation, most likely you'll need to let them go and retain a new lawyer in IN after the 4 months.

[nazstar]

I have a call into my lawyer on another issue and will ask about this too.

My concern is that holding off filing for 4 months might backfire. We stopped paying everything back in December so it is possible that we have a judgement against us in the next 5 months from someone (either cc company or mortgage company). If that happened, we would need to file ASAP but if there is a 4 month waiting period holding us back...what would happen? Could we still file in Florida even though we've moved? Or are we "without a state" for filing purposes until 4 months is up?

[MomIcantFindmy]

The other thing to think about is any moving money your employer gives you to move is counted as income.

[nazstar]

They aren't giving us moving money, per se. They are directly paying the moving company to relocate us. I guess that wouldn't be considered "income" to us because the money will never enter our hands.

[Cali]

From the time I retained my attorney to the time I filed was 4 months. I didn't have a judgment against me from any creditor.