In great denial...

[badkarma]

Found this forum a few days ago and been lurking...
We can't believe our lives have come to this...
We are so scared to file bankruptcy as we have a house( which we are making payments, late but making them) and two cars one pd for the other making payments. We owe about 40,000 in c. cards and personal loan.
we have been stealing from paul to pay peter for the last 18 months and we can't stay above the water we are drowning. So tired to hear the phone ring from the collectors

Are there really people on here who was able to keep their home and cars after filing bankruptcy?
we know a few friends who filed but they had no home to be taken away, or they let it go cause the house was falling apart all this before the new law

with having kids filing bakruptcy ruin their chance for getting a college loan, down the road?
we have four kids so I think with the test median we pass for Ch 7

how is it that one lawyer can charge so much more to file if it's the same amount work that any lawyer does?

Just wanted to say hi and so sorry we all have to go through this

laugh till you feel better
yeah right

[dingdong]

Found this forum a few days ago and been lurking...
We can't believe our lives have come to this...
We are so scared to file bankruptcy as we have a house( which we are making payments, late but making them) and two cars one pd for the other making payments. We owe about 40,000 in c. cards and personal loan.
we have been stealing from paul to pay peter for the last 18 months and we can't stay above the water we are drowning. So tired to hear the phone ring from the collectors

Are there really people on here who was able to keep their home and cars after filing bankruptcy? Yes, many have. It depends on how much equity you have. If you are upside down it shouldn't be a problem.

we know a few friends who filed but they had no home to be taken away, or they let it go cause the house was falling apart all this before the new law

with having kids filing bakruptcy ruin their chance for getting a college loan, down the road? Federally backed student loans are not credit driven. As long as you meet income criteria, they would qualify on their own as long as they are 18 when applying for the loan, they would not need a cosignor.
we have four kids so I think with the test median we pass for Ch 7.

Take the means test at www.legalconsumer.com
how is it that one lawyer can charge so much more to file if it's the same amount work that any lawyer does?

Some are BK mills, some are private firms that specialize in BK, meet with 3 or4 for free consults and come prepared with good questions specific to your situation.
Just wanted to say hi and so sorry we all have to go through this

laugh till you feel better
yeah right

Once you learn a lot more about BK , you will feel much better. The first step is scary, but if you apply yourself to being well informed, you will start to feel much better.

I would recommend buying the NOLO Bk book. Google for a discount code, there is a 10.00 off coupon out there and you can get the E-book for 8.00.

Well worth it and it can help answer a lot of your questions.
Welcome to our little virtual BK world.
You are among friends!

We all be broke!

DD

[itsjustmoney]

I can totally understand where you are coming from. We just saved enough to pay our atty last week and delivered all the documents to him on Monday of this week. We are filing a CH 7 and are keeping our home and car. The attorney told us if we want to keep the home, we must keep making the payments (same for the car). If not included in BK then if we fall behind, we will lose the home. So if you are in position to keep your home, stop paying cc's and personal loans to save up the money to pay atty. My advice would be to interview several and not stop at the first one. We found as much as $500 difference in atty fees by doing this. If you are in a better position when it comes time for the kids to go to college you can help them....worst case scenario, the kid can get a student loan and you can make the payments on their behalf. Good luck!

[badkarma]

Thanks for the replies!
Another question, I've read where people say stop paying on c. cards. We have three that are auto pay from our cking ea mon.and the other two we mail in. How does that work to stop it then without paying bank fee for stop payments?

Ok Median test says we pass for Ch 7...

go ahead and judge ....
I guess we are afraid also of them taking our 1997 pop up camper we just bought it used off Craigslist in Feb for $900( it took us 4 yrs to save the cash)
you think they take it from us?
I hate to see it go after saving all these yrs.. kids aren't getting any younger need to do family things now
Just so sad and mad at ourselves, how could two grown working adults get here
oh yeah it's called LIFE HAPPENS....

[dingdong]

No one is going to judge you.

You may be able to exempt the camper under the BK property exemptions.


What state do you live in?

You should check out the fed/state exemptions and see where you stand asset wise.

You may be able to protect everything if you don't have a lot of assets.

Some states require you to use one set of exemptions or the other, some you can choose state or federal.

[itsjustmoney]

I agree with dingdong...check your states exemption allowance.

Secondly, contact your bank & cc's and tell them you wish to discontinue the automatic drafts. You should not be charges stop payment fees for discontinuing their draft program.

[badkarma]

Thanks Dingdong
We live here in OH. where do you find out about the exemptions?
We finally go next Thurs dragging our sorry bottoms in there,lol for our first consult due to work schedule.
Making copies of everything I can think of that they may ask us. Titles, payment book,
w2's ,paystub, etc...

I wish I was losing weight over this instead of stress eating,lol
may lose the debts to gain 50lbs,lol

[Amy26]

Awe, you'll be ok! We all will...just a matter of time and patience.

And you're not alone with the weight thing... we can't afford to eat healthy right now so its all about quick, cheap and fattening at our place!

[dingdong]

Yeah, too bad you can't BK ice cream calories!

Here are Ohio exemptions: I just did a quick search, so you may want to check to make sure these are the most up to date exemptions.

You might be able to use the 400.00 wildcard to protect some of the camper.

Is the camper valued at 900.00? If it is appraised lower, it could be protected. The TT may not want to go after 500.00 in assets if that is the only thing not covered..

ASSET
EXEMPTION DESCRIPTION
LAW SECTION

Homestead
Real or personal property used as residence to $5000

Property held as tenancy by the entirety may be exempt against debts owed by only one spouse
2329.66(A) (1) (b)

In re Thomas, 14 B.R. 423

(N.D. Ohio 1981)

Insurance
Benevolent society benefits to $5000

Disability benefits to $600 per month

Fraternal benefit society benefits

Group life insurance policy or proceeds

Life, endowment or annuity contract avails for your spouse, child or dependent

Life insurance proceeds for a spouse

Life insurance proceeds if clause prohibits proceeds from being used to pay beneficiary’s creditors
2329.63, 2329.66(A) (6) (a)

2329.66(A) (6) (e), 3923.19

2329.66(A) (6) (d), 3921.18

2329.66(A) (6) ( c), 3917.05

2329.66(A) (6) (b), 3911.10

3911.12

3911.14

Miscellaneous
Alimony, child support needed for support

Property of business partnership
2329.66(A) (11)

1775.24, 2329.66(A) (14)

Pensions
ERISA-qualified benefits needed for support

Firefighters, police officers

Firefighters’ police officers’ death benefits

IRAs needed for support

Keoghs needed for support

Public employees

Public school employees

State highway patrol employees

Volunteer firefighters’ dependents
2329.66(A) (10) (b)

742.47

2329.66(A) (10) (a)

2329.66(A) (10) ( c)

2329.66(A) (10) ( c)

145.56

3307.71, 3309.66

5505.22

146.13

Personal Property



















Note: Jewelry must be counted toward the $1500/$2000 totals
Animals, crops, books, musical instruments, appliances, household goods, furnishings, hunting & fishing equipment & firearms to $200 per item, $1500 total ($2000 if no homestead claimed)

Beds, bedding & clothing to $200 per item

Burial plot

Cash, money due within 90 days, bank & security deposits & tax refund to $400 total (spouse without income can’t exempt tax refund, In re Smith, 77 B.R. (N.D. Ohio 1987)

Cooking unit & refrigerator to $300 each

Health aids

Jewelry to $200 per item (1 item may be to $400)

Lost future earnings needed for support, received during 12 months before filing

Motor vehicle to $1000

Personal injury recoveries to $5000 (not to include pain & suffering), received during 12 months before filing

Wrongful death recoveries for person debtor depended on, needed for support, received during 12 months before filing




2329.66(A) (4) (b), (d)

2329.66(A) (3)

517.09, 2329.66(A) (3)



517.09, 2329.66(A) (8)

2329.66(A) (3)

2329.66(A) (7)

239.66(A) ( c), (d)

2329.66(A) (12) (d)

2329.66(A) (2) (b)

2329.66(A) (12) ( c)

2329.66(A) (12) (b)

Public Benefits
Crime victim’s compensation, received during 12 months before filing

General assistance payments

Tuition credit

Unemployment compensation

Vocational rehabilitation benefits

Workers’ compensation
2329.66(A) (12) (a), 2743.66

2329.66(A) (9) (e), 5113.03

2329.66(A) (16)

2329.66(A) (9) ( c), 4141.32

2329.66(A) (9) (a), 3304.19

2329.66(A) (9) (b), 4123.67

Tools of Trade
Implements, books & tools of trade to $750

Seal, official register of notary public
2329.66(A) (5)

2329.66(A) (15), 147.04

Wages
Minimum 75% of earned but unpaid wages due for 30 days; bankruptcy judge may authorize more for low-income debtors
2329.66(A) (13)

Wild Card
$400 of any property
2329.66(A) (17)

[Flamingo]

Found this forum a few days ago and been lurking...
We can't believe our lives have come to this...
We are so scared to file bankruptcy as we have a house( which we are making payments, late but making them) and two cars one pd for the other making payments. We owe about 40,000 in c. cards and personal loan.
we have been stealing from paul to pay peter for the last 18 months and we can't stay above the water we are drowning. So tired to hear the phone ring from the collectors

Are there really people on here who was able to keep their home and cars after filing bankruptcy?
we know a few friends who filed but they had no home to be taken away, or they let it go cause the house was falling apart all this before the new law

with having kids filing bakruptcy ruin their chance for getting a college loan, down the road?
we have four kids so I think with the test median we pass for Ch 7

how is it that one lawyer can charge so much more to file if it's the same amount work that any lawyer does?

Just wanted to say hi and so sorry we all have to go through this

laugh till you feel better
yeah right

Briefly, We kept our home and our vehicles in Chapter 13. Our daughter started college while we were in our Plan and successfully obtained Stafford Loans. As to lawyers, you get what you pay for. If you call the office of the discount legal service advertising on TV at 2:00 a.m. to save money, it's easy to figure out what can happen. Call your State Bar Association in your State for a good BK lawyer reference in your area.

[badkarma]

Thank you everyone!
It just feels like you are alone in this mess glad to know we are not alone,lol
Thanks for some great advice, learn something new every day

Oh yeah how do you find out values of item like if you were to sale at gargae sale? A lot of our stuff is over 5 yrs old, after 4 kids and dog who wants it,lol

[zpbk13]

Just wanted to say hi from a fellow Ohio resident. You are so not alone in this process. Not many people in real life want to talk about these type of matters but here you can feel free to share your feelings, frustrations and ultimately your triumphs.

Definitely call those creditors and stop the auto payments so you can start to save for your attorney. Take care!

[badkarma]

Hi again!
Just wondering we got a letter from our bank who holds our mortgage about doing a loan remod. should we see about doing this first since we want to keep the house or wait till after BK to see about doing one?
Also one of our c card is with chase where we bank if we stop paying on it can they take the money from our acct?
I read somewhere about stopping direct deposit why is that?
Thanks again

[Toby629]

We are getting ready to file chapter 7 in Ohio also. We were able to get a mod for our mortgage through our lender last November. It took off $300 per month on our mortgage payment, and our interest rate went from 5.75 to 3 percent. This mod had nothing to do with the Obama plan, this was through the lender. I would try to do a mod through the lender first, then do your BK. Our mod was done over the phone, with papers sent through FedEx which we signed and sent back, all done within a week. We are keeping our house. Met with 3 attorneys before finding the right one, he was number three. He charges $1799, well worth the fee. We have 2 sons in college now. They were able to get federal financial aid for their school tuition and costs. We helped as best as we could before DH lost his job 2 yr. ago, they know they will have to pay back their fed loans once they graduate.