Why do some people wait so long to file?

[rogue182]

I see a lot of posts where people say they waited six months, 12 months or longer to file after stopping payments. Once you know your filing is inevitable, why would you wait so long to file?

John

[blessed]

I asked that question too. lol

[Mensa1]

There can be reasons that would delay your filing. Such as owning real estate that is being forefeited, or foreclosed upon, and until it is completed gone, sold and transferred things like insurance costs or HOA's in some venues continue to accumulate. Best to wait until all the damage is done there and the meter stops running, then file the Ch 7.

Also issues with mens testing; say one was laid off 2-3-4 months ago from a job that had a decent income, which due to the higher income the means test put them into a Ch 13. With each passing month the avg income drops and eventually the 6 month avg of income will be low enough to qualify for the 7.

There are no doubt lots of other legitimate and necessary reasons why folks wait so long. But, the leading reason why folks wait so long is like not a valid reason. They simply cannot of do not want to face the facts; THEY are BK. Filing is a sobering event, no matter what. Oh yes, it can also be a big relief too, but many put it off like other things they simply do not wish to face.

Nut suffice it to say there are valid reasons too.

[LadyInTheRed]

There are many reasons to wait. Here are the ones I can think of immediately:

1. Save the money that would otherwise go to creditors to pay attorney fees and court filing fees.

2. If you are filing Chap 13 and have exemptions that will cover more cash than you have, save more cash for a cushion during your Chap 13 plan.

3. Spend non-exempt cash you have, or that you save by not paying creditors, to stock up on necessities, make necessary repairs on auto and home and other expenses.

4. If there has been a recent decrease in income, wait for the higher income to be 6 months back in order to pass the means test for Chap 7 or to decrease the plan payment for Chap 13.

5. To get past the look back period for preference payments.

[WhatMoney]

Another reason to delay - to put time between questionable transactions and your filing date. For example: You wrote yourself a $25,000 balance transfer check from a credit card account and deposited it into your checking account. Then you stopped paying on the credit card account balance.

You want to put plenty of time between BK and this very traceable transaction. Some might say 1-2 yrs minimum...

[blessed]

Another reason to delay - to put time between questionable transactions and your filing date. For example: You wrote yourself a $25,000 balance transfer check from a credit card account and deposited it into your checking account. Then you stopped paying on the credit card account balance.

You want to put plenty of time between BK and this very traceable transaction. Some might say 1-2 yrs minimum...

People really do that? I had no idea.

[DeadManCrawling]

We waited three years to file, for some of the reasons already listed and for many more.

We were way over the median, but knew this was coming to an end, at least temporarily. So we had to wait, or be put into a CH 13 plan that was guaranteed to fail from the start.

We also had ongoing medical concerns that couldn't be immediately handled.

And many other factors, like assets which were not exempt.

So we stopped paying 3 years ago, waited for income to drop, waited and waited some more. Lots of time to plan and answer questions in advance.

It was worth it in the end, and that is the key for anyone, whether you wait a week or a decade.

[coolmom04]

We only waited long enough for my husband's big bonus to fall off the 6 month look back period and for the 90 day period of last credit card use to pass.

[Flamingo]

As in our instance, my hubby lost his over six figure job in 2/01, we survived on some savings, cutting severely back, then robbing Peter to pay Paul while he hoped to get a job at least somewhere near what he made. This was during the Tech Bust period of the past decade. He could not recover job-wise, we could not recover income wise and faced the reality of BK. We should have filed sooner; we just put ourselves deeper in debt trying not to file. It's a vicious downward spiral black hole...

[momofthree]

Not everyone is current on their bills and suddenly realizes that "they're bankrupt." Some of us were already a couple of months behind, struggling to find a way to make it work, hoping that something would change, and THEN realize that bk is the only option. Then you have to think about saving for attorney fees, finding an attorney, wanting to spend down a tax refund, etc. which can also take a couple months.

[Dst1]

I'm somewhat surprised that one big reason to wait hasn't been mentioned already.

Because one doesn't have a future.

Filing for BK just to file for BK makes no sense. As has been pointed out on this forum before, if you have no job, no income, and no assets why are you filing for BK. BK can help remedy the bad decisions or the plain bad luck of the past. But it can't give you a future. Until you have a future, don't file for BK.

[mtbc]

And if you incur extra unexpected medical expenses, etc., in the interim, you might be glad you waited, so you can include the bills.

We waited partly so that we'd lived in a state long enough that had a higher median income level. We were low enough in the previous one, but nearer the threshold than I liked -- doing the case pro se, I wanted it to be so clear-cut they wouldn't look twice. (And, indeed, they barely looked once.)

[seamoonil]

I am thinking about filing around july;

My cards with higher balance are my Usbank 11k, BoA 7k, USAA 7k.

I also have 5 other cards around 1k balance.

I have no assets, and my income is around 1k a month(13k year)

What do they could do to me If I don't pay anything anymore?

It's really necessary to file if I have no assests, and no high income?

[tigergem]

What do they could do to me If I don't pay anything anymore?

It's really necessary to file if I have no assests, and no high income?

They can send you to collections. They can take you to court. They can garnish your wages. They can seize your bank account. That is what they can do if you don't file.

[Dst1]

They can send you to collections. They can take you to court. They can garnish your wages. They can seize your bank account. That is what they can do if you don't file.

Yes, that's all true. But if you have no money in your bank account and your are not working, that's basically a hollow threat. You can't get blood from a stone. So wait to file until you do have something you need to protect, like a decent job.