Recomendations

[armstrow]

Hello guys and gals. After about a year of debate and bugging you guys with questions. I have finally made my mind up to pursue a Chapter 7. Little history, I made $21,000 last year and I am on course to make the same this year. I am about $45,000 in debt between credit card debt and a repo. Owed 17k on my honda civic and the tranny blew out, was a well known problem with the 07 civic si but honda did not want to hear it, and wanted 5k for a new tranny which i could not afford so I let them Repo it.

I really did not want to do this but it would take me 20 years to pay off that debt. After taxes I bring in 1620 a month and my rent alone is $1160(lease is up in 3 months, will never sign a 2 year lease again.) I am well below the median income for New Jersey. My mother is disabled from having 5 massive strokes and had no were left to go so her and my younger bro moved in to my place. I handle all the rent, my cell, my car insurance, and food. They pay for cable and electric.

My questions are, would there income count against the median (would I be a three person household instead of a 1 person household) my mom gets ssd and my bro makes about 1300 a month so either way I would still be way under median. My other question is can anyone recommend a good bankruptcy lawyer in the southern New Jersey area. My mother and father went bankrupt about 6 years ago and were not impressed with there attorney.

Its kind of weird, most people get nervous over this and I am not at all. My parents as well as two friends said the hardest part was getting the money for the attorney, said the 341 is about 2 mins long and then its a waiting game. But if anyone could give me a recommendation on a good Chapter 7 attorney I would be greatful, or even point me in the direction were to find one, other then calling several and hearing what they have to say

[SMinGA]

The lease is up in 3 months... I'm guessing your lease requires either a 2 or 3 month notice to terminate - might be wise to go ahead and give notice and start hunting for a more affordable place now. If you have given notice (and have good payment history) you should be able to get approved for a different rental without too much trouble, while waiting til after you have filed could mean you'll need to pay a higher than usual security deposit.

My understanding on the family situation: their income counts as much as it applies to household expenses. So you'd count the income they use to contribute.

As to the attorney question, the best bet is probably to schedule a few consultations. Don't plan to make a same day decision. Go in with a summary of your information, ask questions, and decide no or maybe. The no's will probably be obvious, some attorneys just don't seem interested in answering questions and such. Ultimately compare the maybes, ask more questions, and choose from there.