Something just doesn't feel right.........................

[Panacea]

So, from not paying my credit cards this month, I have money. I can pay them now, and my mortgage and everything else. My credit cards bill will be late, but I feel like I should show an attempt. My last 6months pay is based on alot of overtime which I will not be getting anymore. My dad gave me 1000.00 also to help with bills. I've given a retainer of 500 to an attorney, but I'm not sure about him now.

I AM FLIPPING OUT RIGHT NOW AND IN A PANIC! I'm not sure if I can go forward with the bankruptcy, and feel like I should be trying to keep up. If in a few months, after getting less pay, I may go forward but right now I just can't stand myself thinking about BK

I fall right under passing the means test with this overtime. If I give up the house and car, I could certainly get a chapter 13, with my last 6months income....but moving forward if I keep trying to pay, I will certainly qualify for a 7.

Should I wait, and try paying what I can. How can I prove my future income will be less without the overtime, without it actually happening?

[keepinitreal]

You've retained an attorney, so now you just have to work on paying him/her in full. Once you've paid in full, then you can pick the best time to actually file. Don't wait until you're broke to think about filing and not be able to file because you can't come up with the money. Good luck!

[october99]

I'm in a similar situation, but I don't know that I could catch up anymore. If you can wait a few months with your pay cut, it will help you pass the means test. From what I'm starting to understand if you pass the means test AND your schedules show that you have no or very little disposable monthly income, then a chapter 7 will be less difficult. I keep learning about folks being pushed into Ch 13 because they have too much DMI on their schedules and/or unreasonable expenses. In my area it seems like the totality of circumstances will come into play. With a reduced income it will be in your favor.

As for the extra money (as if, ha ha), we need new tires and brakes on both vehicles and attorney fees to pay. That alone is at least 4k.

I also want to mention that I think that the $$ given to you by your dad will also be considered income and averaged into your last 6 months for the means test. Since you have an attorney you may want to run that by them.

[UghUghUgh]

Stop....breath....

If you gave your attorney a retainer then he really should answer questions for you, make a list, call and ask, he just won't prepare docs or file for you until paid in full. Since you have extra money get that attorney paid, its an allowable expense. Why are you not sure about him? You must have thought him ok to put down a retainer, what has happened since then? If you are truly in doubt then maybe tell him you changed your mind and are going to try and make a go of it. Get your retainer back and then schedule other consults asap! I most definitely think you should wait a few months with the lower income and THEN file and do a 7. If you want to keep the house and car, how to handle that is a question for the attorney or the regulars on here. The 7 will give you the freshest start, a 13 is kinda sketchy...read those stickies as to what they entail/require. READ, READ, READ! (Should make you feel better, knowledge is power etc.)

Sadly, most of us are in TOTAL denial until one thing teeters our careful financial balancing act and so we do not 'plan' bankruptcy and therefore we make mistakes, i.e. the $1000 you got from your dad.

If I had done that I would, if there is NO PAPER transaction to that deal, give that money back and never speak a word of it to anyone. EVER! If there IS, like you deposited it into the bank then I hope one of the regulars answers towards that because I am not sure how that works.

Next, and this is where you should get your attorneys advice. You need to take that 'extra money' you find you now have and pay things considered a necessity. There is a sticky on this called Bankruptcy pre-planning. It mentions things that you can spend that money on that the UST will not/cannot (?) object to. Keep your receipts!! I know for us it will be eye glasses and groceries, gas. I will figure other stuff out as soon as I get to that point, right now there is about $40 in checking so nothing is getting purchased today.

I was told to stop USING the cards and stop PAYING them. I think the first was the most important but I asked for clarification and told this person I thought I could gather enough for one more month payments and he repeated stop USING, stop PAYING. There needs to be no activity on the cards for three months, this is best.

You have the time to wait this out without paying your cards. Watch what you say to them when they call or maybe do not answer the phone at all. You can do this, if you feel like you are going into this blind then you need to ask more questions. Start your pre-planning now, every step you want to make...ASK before you make it. Everything will be just fine. Good luck!

~Ugh

[Panacea]

Thanks for all the great advice. You all seem so "together", and I'm just so outta whack. I deposited the check, my mistake. I worry about the lawyer, though I like him. I wonder why he didn't tell me not to deposit the check? He knew I was getting it from him. These are the kind of things that seem so important, especially with my income due to overtime, barely passing the means test. I have an appointment with him tomorrow and will bring this up.

[andy158]

We went through the same scenario for three years and then came the reality hit and we stopped fooling ourselves. We would get a shot at some overtime and everything was paid, but no savings or emergency fund in place. Our budget now is based on no overtime and any extra is put right into the emergency fund. Living from paycheck to paycheck caused us more greif than the bk has! We were one step from the abyss. I know it feels weird to stop paying on things you feel responsible for, but changes were made beyond our control that forced us to make the move. If you are contemplating and have secured an attorny you are facing your demons and have taken the first step. That is the hardest. Attempting to keep up with the credit cards is wasting your money. Keep it for attorney fees. Don't feel guilty. They have probably made enough interest off you for being a good customer over the years to cover the loss. I know ours did. I have no sympathy for the banks (that held the cc's) that screwed us and refused to work with us on any level.