Ugh...i think i am in trouble :(

[Beeheery]

LOL true. That is so funny. How crazy is that??? Yeah nd Banca, i don't know what people are thinking racking up loads of cc debt and waiting till day 91 to file. Obviously that would be seen as abuse. Doesn't this mean they can go to jail? I thought if you did that they put you in jail and dismiss your case. I haven't touched my cards in FOREVER and actually cant now because they were all closed. I wouldn't even risk it so i dont know why these people think they can get away with it. NO WAY JOSE!

[jktrading]

After 90 days for luxury items, 70 days for cash advances, the "creditor" has to prove you knew you weren't going to pay it back. So, did you "know" you weren't going to pay it back? If you answer that you did not know, you have nothing to worry about. The attorney may just be fishing for an answer without coming out and asking you. If you stand firm and say you thought you would pay it back, that is the perfect defense.

[2Bshinyandnew]

he said he would have to make the trustee think it was OK. (

I do not know why this attorney would say this about your situation. Unless the charges violate the 70/90 rule, the trustee shouldn't care. It is up to the individual creditor to object, not the trustee unless the 70/90 rule is violated.

The presumption of abuse that many are concerned about has to do with the means test and qualifying for a CH7 v a CH13.

Beeheery, when my ex filed his CH7/no asset petition in south fla in late 2008, he included a $10,000 BOA line of credit that he had taken out just 5 months before filing that he did not make one single payment on. Neither the trustee nor BOA made a peep and he was discharged right on schedule. I thought for sure he was going to have a problem with BOA (then again I should have known that my ex would get away with it)

I think this attorney was just scaring you. I told my attorney point blank, if my kids are hungry and I'm broke and have credit available on a card, I'm using that card and i'll deal with the potential problems later. The attorney stated he doubted that a single mom buying food or medical care would catch the trustees eye even with charges the month of filing. If you haven't used your cards in over a year, you will be fine! Get a few more consults. I'll PM you with a couple of attorney names in South Florida.

[Beeheery]

Thanks so much shiny! I REALLY appreciate it

[lrprn]

The lawyer's answer was riding on the fact that Beeheery was not employed and had no income during the time period she was charging. The key here is if the charges were made with the ability to pay them back, not the 'intent' to pay them back. What the lawyer is concerned about is how can Beeheery say the charges were made 'in good faith' when at the time she had no income to pay them back?

Beeheery, given the very solid reasons you had for the non-luxury charges and your personal circumstances, chances are things will be ok. As someone else already said, the worst case scenario is a cc could file an objection for what you charged after losing your job and you may have to pay what you owe that creditor back. Everything else will be discharged.

The chances of a creditor filing an objection given your circumstances and the relatively small amounts you charged is, frankly, about the same as a meteor hitting your house today Possible, sure, but not likely. The odds are on your side here.

[albacore44]

That's a different story. If you made payments AFTER you made the charges then it looks like you attempted in good faith.

I would still hold off as long as possible. I hate when I hear of those that are going through creditor objections except for the few that bought the large flat screen 91 days before filing thinking they are safe.

There have been several posts asking the question of who have had creditor objections, particularly credit cards, and not 1 person came back with a response saying they had an objection from a credit card company. I believe it's not worth the money it would cost them in legal fees to fight over a few puny charges. I'm sure there must be some out there, but it must be for blatant abuse, and easy for them to prove fraudulent intent

[StartingOver08]

Which goes back to my original answer in this thread - I think the attorney was trying to generate a 'extra fee' by showing how 'difficult' the case is going to be!

[Beeheery]

Thank you so much to everyone for your responses. I was just shocked when he said it was most likely going to be an issue. i wanted the earth to swallow me up. do you guys ever feel like that??? lol.

[Brighterdays]

There have been several posts asking the question of who have had creditor objections, particularly credit cards, and not 1 person came back with a response saying they had an objection from a credit card company. I believe it's not worth the money it would cost them in legal fees to fight over a few puny charges. I'm sure there must be some out there, but it must be for blatant abuse, and easy for them to prove fraudulent intent

Amen, I had started a thread about the subject and not 1 person had an objection. I have read about 99% of all the threads on here and have seen numerous people who have taken out 5k or more in cash advance just outside the 90 days and no one got popped. One guy charged 6k 20 days before filing and nothing happened. see link below.

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=37478

What I have read is that the trustee is just looking for assets to give back to creditors. you have a better chance of winning the lottery and getting struck by lighting(at the same time), than getting charged with a crime. Fraud is generally if you lie on your app or under oath to the trustee, not if you bought a laptop. Plus the 90/70 rule clears you of any crime*(under most circumstances). You may get an objection but I have not found one single person who has gotten an objection from the Credit company. It just isn't cost effective for them to dispatch a lawyer on a case unless you are employed and you have numerous big purchases. The lawyers general work on commision and unless they can get you good they don't bother.

As with all this YMMV(your mileage may vary).

[OregonMom]

My parents filed last year due to my step father not employeed and neither was my mother. They filed because they had to let their house go and felt that was the best route to go. They also included some credit cards that they used after he was unemployed and it wasn't an issue. Trustee just asked why they were filing he said because they were unemployed and they said ok. I would see another lawyer.