Questions! I'm just not "getting" this.

[may]

I'm just not understanding all of this! There's just so much information and I just don't get it. I'm trying to search on this board, but I don't get the process really.

-If we're current on our mortgage and don't have any plans on selling, moving, or being late on payment, would we still be able to keep it?

-Do we have to do anything differently when we file our taxes after BK?

-We're now late on our camper. We plan on including it when we file BK. They said they're going to send it to collections if we don't pay. It's only 30 days late. Can that happen? It's the first time we've been late.

-How do they determine if we file Ch7 or Ch13?

-How hard is it to finance anything after BK? Like I'm going to include my car when we file, but I'll obviously need a car to get to work? Is it going to be possible for me to get a loan or should I rely on my parents? They're willing to help us out with all of this.

Help! I've made 2 appointments for a consult and I've canceled both. I just can't bring myself to go. And the place I found is right near mine and DH's work. He doesn't want people seeing us there. At this point, I just want this weight off my shoulders. I don't care anymore. I just want to get this done and move on with life.

TIA!

[keepmine]

The answer to the house depends on how much equity your state allows you to exempt. So, what state and how much equity in the house?

You file your taxes as usual BUT, unless your lawyer can exempt any refund, the trustee may claim it as property of the bk estate.

Yes, 30 days late can get you sent to collections-no biggie.

You file a Chapter 13 if, you have assets you wish to keep that are valued above your states exemption or, you have enough monthly disposable income {MDI} to fund a Chapter 13.
Nobody can say for sure which chapter until, your lawyer fills out schedules I and J.

If at all possible, get your car fiannced prior to filing. Be careful about borrowing money from parents prior to filing. Don't let them pay cash for a car and then sign it over to you and you make payments to them. Unless they do it absolutely by the book and property perfect the lein, the bk trustee can snatch that car and leave you both in the lurch.

[lindsay2181]

I'm new to all this too, but lots of those answers can be found here....I've been reading for hours since I found this forum 2 days ago. As for your camper, if you're only one payment behind, I think you can stall for more time. I think some creditors are obviously more aggressive than others. It's probably a good idea to keep the lines of communication open....I think you can stall for months and months, I seriously doubt they will send you to a 3rd party collection after only one month behind. They may be reffering to "in-house collections" which is just another department within the company that sit there all day making phone calls to late payers.

I found an excellent thread that differentiated chapters 7 and 13, I will look it up and past here for you to check out. After reading that I felt very confident that I was a candidate for 7 and not 13.

And as far as the initial appt, I also have yet to go. Not b/c I don't want anyone to see me there, but b/c my husband is totally against us doing this. He is in denial right now....I'm slowly easing him into the idea but if he doesn't budge soon I am prepared to move forward without his blessing. It doesn't hurt just to TALK to someone, I suppose if you have to go to another town....do what you have to do. I think taking that first step might seem intimidating, but once you do you'll breathe a sigh of relief, like "i did it" you know? And then you have that part behind you, and can move on to the next step. Good luck! I am right there with you!

[may]

The answer to the house depends on how much equity your state allows you to exempt. So, what state and how much equity in the house? I'm in VA and it depends on what you look at. By the county we have like $2k but by Zillow we have like $15k-$20k

You file your taxes as usual BUT, unless your lawyer can exempt any refund, the trustee may claim it as property of the bk estate.

Yes, 30 days late can get you sent to collections-no biggie. DH is freaking out about it, but if we're going to include it, what's the big deal.

You file a Chapter 13 if, you have assets you wish to keep that are valued above your states exemption or, you have enough monthly disposable income {MDI} to fund a Chapter 13.
Nobody can say for sure which chapter until, your lawyer fills out schedules I and J. What is an I&J? Told ya I'm clueless

If at all possible, get your car fiannced prior to filing. Be careful about borrowing money from parents prior to filing. Don't let them pay cash for a car and then sign it over to you and you make payments to them. Unless they do it absolutely by the book and property perfect the lein, the bk trustee can snatch that car and leave you both in the lurch. We were thinking that he could cosign and at the worst they would pay for it and I would just pay them every month.

See above. Thank you!

[may]

I'm new to all this too, but lots of those answers can be found here....I've been reading for hours since I found this forum 2 days ago. As for your camper, if you're only one payment behind, I think you can stall for more time. I think some creditors are obviously more aggressive than others. It's probably a good idea to keep the lines of communication open....I think you can stall for months and months, I seriously doubt they will send you to a 3rd party collection after only one month behind. They may be reffering to "in-house collections" which is just another department within the company that sit there all day making phone calls to late payers. I'm trying to read as much as I can, but I need like a "Where to begin" thread. :lol:

I found an excellent thread that differentiated chapters 7 and 13, I will look it up and past here for you to check out. After reading that I felt very confident that I was a candidate for 7 and not 13. I think I know what the differences are, but I wasn't sure how to figure out what I would qualify for.

And as far as the initial appt, I also have yet to go. Not b/c I don't want anyone to see me there, but b/c my husband is totally against us doing this. He is in denial right now....I'm slowly easing him into the idea but if he doesn't budge soon I am prepared to move forward without his blessing. It doesn't hurt just to TALK to someone, I suppose if you have to go to another town....do what you have to do. I think taking that first step might seem intimidating, but once you do you'll breathe a sigh of relief, like "i did it" you know? And then you have that part behind you, and can move on to the next step. Good luck! I am right there with you! DH is in denial too, but he wants the weight off also. He wants me to just tell him where to sign, but I told him that he needs to come with me. I'm sure they won't do anything without him since we're both filing.

Thank you!

[lindsay2181]

I agree, a "where to begin" would help. I found the "Bankruptcy FAQ" helpful to start with, in "Before the Discharge" and after I went through all those topics, I worked my way up on the boards that seemed applicable to my personal situation. I skipped the small business, foreclosure, and chapter 13 stuff. I did searches, and sometimes found what I was looking for and sometimes didn't, so then I just clicked page after page, reading topics that caught my eye. It's just kind of all over the place.

The thread I mentioned asked questions and the answers to those questions clearly told me what I would be eligible for. http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=54

Aren't men something? I got into a debt management plan a few years back with CCC...my husband didn't even come with me to the meeting.

[keepmine]

Here are Va.s homestead exemptions.

http://www.bankruptcyinformation.com/VA_exemp.htm

You should be OK on the house. Zillow is pretty worthless.

Schedules I and J are the income and expense schedules. I think the current cutoff is, $187 MDI to force you into a Chapter 13.

Cosigning should work fine on the car. Just be sure it's an expense you can easily handle post bk.

Just keep reading and asking questions. You're early in the process.

[AngelinaCatHub]

A cheap source of good information is the Chapter 7 book by Nolo Press. You can download it for about $17 in pdf format. It has the forms you would use to, but I would get the forms online from your local Federal Courthouse. It also gives a good description of C7 vs C13.. Just Googleing the Internet can give you great info as well.

nolopress.com 'Hub

[may]

I agree, a "where to begin" would help. I found the "Bankruptcy FAQ" helpful to start with, in "Before the Discharge" and after I went through all those topics, I worked my way up on the boards that seemed applicable to my personal situation. I skipped the small business, foreclosure, and chapter 13 stuff. I did searches, and sometimes found what I was looking for and sometimes didn't, so then I just clicked page after page, reading topics that caught my eye. It's just kind of all over the place.

The thread I mentioned asked questions and the answers to those questions clearly told me what I would be eligible for. http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=54

Aren't men something? I got into a debt management plan a few years back with CCC...my husband didn't even come with me to the meeting.

Thank you.

Here are Va.s homestead exemptions.

http://www.bankruptcyinformation.com/VA_exemp.htm

You should be OK on the house. Zillow is pretty worthless.

Schedules I and J are the income and expense schedules. I think the current cutoff is, $187 MDI to force you into a Chapter 13.

Cosigning should work fine on the car. Just be sure it's an expense you can easily handle post bk.

Just keep reading and asking questions. You're early in the process.

Thank you. We've already talked to a CCC company and they mailed me everything in black and white. As much as I didn't want to look I think the information was important for me to see and DH too.

A cheap source of good information is the Chapter 7 book by Nolo Press. You can download it for about $17 in pdf format. It has the forms you would use to, but I would get the forms online from your local Federal Courthouse. It also gives a good description of C7 vs C13.. Just Googleing the Internet can give you great info as well.

nolopress.com 'Hub

Thank you.

Now I need to find an attorney so I can start this process.

[may]

Also, since we've already contacted a CCCS company before we looked into BK, do we have to take a course? How does that work?

[keepmine]

Also, since we've already contacted a CCCS company before we looked into BK, do we have to take a course? How does that work?

The CCCS requirement must be from a court approved counseling service. Your lawyer will have a list of those approved for your district. Once you complete the course, the certficate will be good for 180 days.

[may]

Ok. Now I just need to find an attorney.

[may]

Help! My bank took money out of our account to pay a late CC. The CC is through that bank. We needed that money to pay our mortgage! I'm so upset! Now we don't have enough to pay our mortgage! Can I ask the bank to put it back? That's my money! I understand I owe them, but we need it!

[keepmine]

Help! My bank took money out of our account to pay a late CC. The CC is through that bank. We needed that money to pay our mortgage! I'm so upset! Now we don't have enough to pay our mortgage! Can I ask the bank to put it back? That's my money! I understand I owe them, but we need it!

Banks generally have a right to "off-set" in the papers you sign when you open an account. Your answer will be in those papers.
For sure, open an account with another bank.