40K CC debt - unable to make min. payments

[justplaintired]

If you quit paying cc, would you then have the money you need to pay essential bills? Rent, utilities....? I mean, if you are going to file BK, then you won't be paying on those cc. I just wouldn't want you to have a problem when you file over some charges. I think you should meet with an attorney and do it soon. Get legal advice on this before you do anymore charging. Also in your situation look for legal aide, on disability you might just qualify. Either way, atleast go for you free consultation and see what an attorney says. This will give you a better idea of what exactly is ok and what isn't. It will also give you an idea of what exactly is able to be exempt.

[woeisme]

The reason people are telling you to stop making charges on the credit cards is because you can cause yourself grief with your BK filing that way. Maybe you'll have credit companies file an adversarial claim that you were fraudulently charging things you knew you didn't have the ability to pay. (And from your comments, this is true. You have no intention of paying for them, plan to discharge them in BK, and that is something that can make that debt non-dischargable in BK.) And if you can't survive without the cards, how are you going to survive when the cards are frozen when you file? If you can't live on what you have (after you STOP making the monthly minimum payments) then filing BK isn't going to help you much, you';ll be right back in the same situation without the ability to file again for years. Consider not using the cards as "practice" for your post-BK survival.

[catleg]

It looks bad to use your credit cards after you have consulted with a bankruptcy attorney. It kind of implies an intent not to repay. It's unlikely anything bad will happen, as long as you just use it for stuff like food and gas.

[liz417]

It looks bad to use your credit cards after you have consulted with a bankruptcy attorney. It kind of implies an intent not to repay. It's unlikely anything bad will happen, as long as you just use it for stuff like food and gas.

Very true, I just remembered something from my 341. There was a couple up at the Trustee's desk and he asked the husband and wife, "what DATE did you 1ST SEE your attorney?" The Trustee must have seen something "fishy" in the petition because there was an "issue" regarding the day that they consulted with their attorney (NOT the day they retained him, he made that VERY clear) and the timeline of them using their credit cards. Their case was rescheduled So once you realize that you need to file BK, STOP using your credit cards...it may come back to bite you in the behind!

[catleg]

The worst that can happen is that part of the debt is declared non dischargeable. So if you need to buy necessities, there's no need to deprive yourself, worst case, you'll just end up paying later. So if you need medical care, food, gas to get to work, by all means, do what you have to do.

I have a saying, they treat us like scumbags, we might as well act like scumbags.

[StartingOver08]

OP, the most important thing about filing BK is making sure that you have a livable budget before you file. It will not help you at all to file BK and still not be able to survive on your current income. BK is only about discharging past debt, not about living on your current income.

Step one is getting your current budget together. If your income in not sufficient to pay your living expenses (without paying the debt you plan to discharge) then you have a problem that BK can not solve by itself. There are only three solutions in this case: increase your income, decrease your expenses or a combination of the two. Personally, I had to get very drastic in cost cutting. I started out with a "zero budget" and added back only those items absolutely necessary for survival. This was difficult at first and then became much easier as I adjusted to 'finding ways to save'.

One of the best ways to find out if you are living within your income is to stop charging and learn to live without your credit cards. Yes, the calls will come. Search for threads on dealing with the creditors calls (there are all kinds of solutions on this board).

Step two: Once you find that you can survive and actually thrive without charging, then file BK and get rid of all that past debt. Yes, charging on your cards right up to your filing can create issues in the BK - you may not be able to discharge that debt at all. Or, worst case, you may have your BK dismissed (unlikely, but still a possibility).

Put some time between your cc charging and your filing date and it makes your filing easier for you. Why give the creditors any reason to challenge your BK?

[Jimmy17]

Thank you all.

I got a referral for a BK lawyer in Los Angeles but he charges $200 for a consult! Can anyone recommend a lawyer down here or at least a site to search for one that doesn't seem fishy - been finding a lot of the 'wheelin' and dealin'' types.

I had to use some of my cards for necessary expenses and I thought, maybe I should make 1 or 2 more min. payments as a sign of good faith?

I will not use the cards again but, if it take me a few weeks to find a good lawyer, do you think I still have time before I go to collections?

Nonetheless, I fully intend to file and have also found a debt counseling agency that does free consults - I found them on the NFCC page.

Should I see them before the attorney?

Thanks you again all. Cheers

[zscfan]

I am also in the LA area, but I think it is against forum rules to recommend specific attorneys. BUT, I found my attorney through the Yellow Pages. Many attorney that do BKs have ads and will advertise free consultations. I would not have paid for a consultation, when so many lawyers give them for free.

Also, when I chose my BK attorney, the 2nd one I consulted with BTW, BUT BEFORE I paid a retainer, I looked him up on the California Bar Association web site to make sure that there were no complaints filed against him.

I would skip the debt counseling; I also considered this last summer when I was trying to avoid BK. BIG MISTAKE, I wish I had filed BK sooner. It seems like most people who do debt settlement or counseling end up filing BK anyway, and would have been in a better position to do BK instead of wasting time trying other methods.

[Jimmy17]

oops - sorry, I didn't know we couldn't refer to specific lawyers but, I understand why.

I did look in the Yellow PAges and found a couple with free consults.

I am not really sure what types of questions I should be asking this particular type of attorney - is it basically about what they charge?

Thank you thank you thank you!!