Going to retain a lawyer this week

[pdxgrrrl]

After months of worrying, agonizing, being laid off, being hired part-time, getting a letter from the IRS, and being sued for a defaulted credit card, I'm finally going to retain a lawyer this week. Since January when this nightmare started (read: I got a letter threatening a lawsuit), I've seen seven lawyers and finally found one I'm comfortable with. I met with him last week and will seeing him on Tuesday to pay his $100 retainer fee. (A family member is paying the rest. Total fee is $1299.) The lawyer recommended a Chapter 7 since I make under the median income due to the loss of my full-time job. I'd previously been considering a Chapter 13 because of some tax debt, but I had my reservations about that, namely being stuck in a bankruptcy for three to five years and not really having the funds to make monthly payments. What I'm making right now is BARELY covering my necessary expenses. (I'm going to need to find cheaper housing soon, for example.) I saw a lawyer two weeks ago who wanted to put me in a Chapter 13 and pay $150 per month to start (and the number would go up when I find a full-time job), but I can't even afford that right now. So, Chapter 7 it is.

I hope I'm making the right choice. I'm pretty sure that I NEED to file for BK, but it's still a hard choice in that I feel like a failure, etc. Hopefully I'll feel better when I pay the lawyer and get this thing going. I'm not sure when exactly I'll file -- it could be this month or next.

Anyway, wish me luck!

[veryclose]

I think since you are being sued on the CC you may as well file. A lot of people never have trouble from their CC debts, but I owed a minimal amount (less than $1000) on 1 and those people filed, got a judgment against me, filed for a lein on my state income tax refund and last (certainly not least), sent someone out to my house to seize property (I have no property to seize). I owed other CCs more money and none of them came after me like this. The court officer coming to the house was actually what prompted me to file. The day I paid my retainer I felt relieved. Good luck!

[pdxgrrrl]

Bumping this up to say that I retained a lawyer and I'm getting the cash from a family member to file. I'll be filing for BK shortly, probably within a few weeks.

Not sure whether I should be relieved or start crying. Maybe both?

[hamburgervol]

I think since you are being sued on the CC you may as well file. A lot of people never have trouble from their CC debts, but I owed a minimal amount (less than $1000) on 1 and those people filed, got a judgment against me, filed for a lein on my state income tax refund and last (certainly not least), sent someone out to my house to seize property (I have no property to seize). I owed other CCs more money and none of them came after me like this. The court officer coming to the house was actually what prompted me to file. The day I paid my retainer I felt relieved. Good luck!

Just curios, what kind of property did they think they were going to get?

[DeadManCrawling]

Be relieved!!!!!!

This is the end of the bad and the start of the good, as long as you can restrain the urge to use credit.

Good luck!