Just getting started

[evldrkns]

Hello everyone! I am just getting started with my stuff. I have been reading the posts and even though I am still somewhat scared, they have given me the courage to continue. I gathered the forms from online and I retrieved a copy of my credit history. I also have registered to take the first required course and I will be done with it tomorrow. My first question is-What is the best way to get a list of creditors? And if it is by credit report, how can I be sure which ones I should list in my paperwork? Some of them say that they were sold to other agencies. I may just be second guessing myself but I just have to be sure.

[blessed]

My attorney uses this service, I have no clue what it costs. The home page says "sign up for a free account today!" Pull a Consumer Liability Report.

http://www.cinlegal.com/bankruptcy-liability-data-services.html

[evldrkns]

Thanks! Ill give it a shot.

[justbroke]

Yes, a credit report is the best... a tri-merge (3 credit bureau report) will probably be more inclusive.

Did you at least purchase a book like the NoLo Guide? It's available at the NoLoPress bookstore (on line) and there's an online coupon that's worth $10 that will make your total cost about $7.95 or so. I think the coupon code is "A416" and it may still be active.

Best of luck to ya!

[evldrkns]

Unfortunately that site is for attorneys only.

[blessed]

After I posted it and looked more at it I realized that. Sorry. It would be a cool tool for all the pro se guys out there!

[justbroke]

Just get a standard tri-merge credit report. I actually used only the report from Equifax, but it's up to you. Many law firms uses the services, like the one mentioned, because many of them are integrated with packages like Best Case Bankruptcy. That way, the attorney can pull your list of creditors and balances, very easily.

Saves typing and errors introduced by transcribing.

[evldrkns]

Thanks to both of you. I got the book and my reports. Got some reading to do.

[SMinGA]

Start collecting billing statements/collection letters - in case you were not previously keeping them. It does not hurt to list the original creditor AND the debt buyer/collection agency.

[evldrkns]

Good idea. Better to list too many than not enough!

[tigergem]

Oh yeah. If you do NOT list a debt, it will NOT be discharged. It doesn't matter if you have to list the original creditor and 200 collection agencies for the same debt. If in doubt, list them all. If you aren't sure who a CA is collecting for, then just let it stand on it's own.

[mtbc]

Unlisted unsecured debts in chapter 7 no-asset will, in fact, typically not be much of a problem, though of course you should still make proper effort to list everything to the best of your knowledge. The thinking is that it probably wouldn't have made any difference anyway. If after the case closes some forgotten creditor argues that you were somehow positively wicked (fraudulent or whatever) so they do really want to challenge the dischargeability, you can have the original case reopened and have the judge rule on that, it's not like you have to start a new case. It's not certain, but you'd be decidedly unlucky to not wiggle free. Asset cases are a bit thornier because the creditor didn't get their jump at a piece of the pie, so I'd assume chapter 13 is similarly thornier. (This is partly why I wanted to keep my case no-asset.)

But, yes, still, list them all, and try to use legal or bankruptcy correspondence addresses or registered offices or whatever, rather than some PO box in the mid-west to which they want you to send payment checks. In some cases I used multiple addresses -- for instance, one bank that was bought by another, I used addresses for both names, and where I had different loans from different parts of the same company, I listed an address for each part, and also for the holding company.

[tigergem]

I'm sure you're absolutely correct mtbc. Basically, in a no asset case, your creditors aren’t going to get any money anyway, so it doesn’t really matter to them, practically speaking, if you list the debt or not. Thus, most courts will probably simply say that the debt was discharged, too, along with all the others, although you forgot to list it.

However, if you’re going to file for bankruptcy protection, especially if you are filing pro se, it really pays to do it right, and not count on a flexible rule like this one to clean up after you. Why "especially if you are filing pro se"? Because if you do it right to begin with then you don't have to spend time researching the rules and procedures and worrying about what you need to go through to fix your mistakes!

As for Chapter 13 cases, if you don’t correctly list the debt, it won’t get discharged.

Chapter 7 with asset cases? In order to have the debt discharged, you will have to prove that the creditor knew or should have known that you were filing for bankruptcy, and that they had adequate notice to prepare a proof of claim for their share of the liquidated assets.

Another important benefit of getting everything right is that you’ll have a straightforward set of paperwork to deal with the credit bureaus and new creditors in the future. If you forget to list a debt, it won’t appear in your bankruptcy schedules, which is what you will need to send to the credit bureaus once you’re ready to re-establish your credit.

[mtbc]

Ah, thanks for the asset case information, that's new to me. Given my "still, list them all" we do seem to be agreeing!

What's this about sending things to the credit bureaus though? In the past I've just relied on the inactive stuff getting older and my credit score being calculated by means that weight the more recent stuff more heavily, so that after a couple of years of good payments the old debt I've not touched is quickly becoming irrelevant. Is there extra magic to further kill the old stuff to accelerate that process? An "IIB" is less bad than a simple unpaid debt or something?

[tigergem]

Waiting for the older stuff to fall off might just be sufficient. I'm not sure because, I haven't actually reached that point yet, and you know, being in a 13, my credit score is really going to be the least of my worries for the next 4.66 years lol... but...I guess if you filed Chapter 7 and really want that "fresh start" then you really really want to be sure that everything possible is OFF your reports or reported correctly IIB with a 0 balance. I have a couple of collection agencies still reporting with a balance and not IIB. If I had a discharged 7, I would definitely set my sights on getting those corrected asap.