Anyone filing or filed bankruptcy lately?

[purr]

I'm having one tough time with my debts.. I never wanted to do this but I have no other choice of this point. I meet with an attorney this thursday and I'm still very upset with my decision. I'm only 13k in debt and I feel like its overpowering me. I cant get a job outside of the house - I do have some work at home jobs but its really not much, and the cost of putting 3 kids in daycare would be pointless as most of the money I make would go there.

[In_The_Wind]

1. No.

I'm sorry you're having problems ~ purr.

[purr]

2. Thanks :)

:hug: I hate it.. I feel so ashamed.. really I do.

[In_The_Wind]

5. It'll get better. I filed once many many years ago.

I've just refinanced our home for several reasons. One of the biggest ones was to pay off all of our existing bills and restructure our finances. Hopefully that will be enough. It's getting tougher for everyone.

What you're doing sounds intelligent and nothing to be ashamed of.

There was a study a few years ago that said most Americans are only a few paychecks away from feeling the same crunch. Most people don't have any savings to carry them through until they can replace lost income.

[purr]

15. I dont actually own my house or I would've thought of

refinancing. With things going up in prices that you need - I can go to the grocery store and rack up $400 in no time at all and believe me, theres no junk in the cart either. That will last me 2 weeks if that with 6 people here. I just cant do it anymore :(

[LaraMN]

3. We're going through the process. Just started.

We did the required "counseling session" last week, have the forms from our lawyer and will hopefully get him all needed materials and information this week. I couldn't believe the sheer number of creditors we had once we started going through everything. I believe we had sixteen creditors, just for medical bills.:wow: It really appears to be the best option for us, but of course it's a bit scary nonetheless.:hug:

[purr]

4. Which one are you filing if you dont mind me asking?

How long will thisd stay on our credit reports and are you really required to pay it back??? I am really scared :(

[LaraMN]

6. I don't know for certain.

We are looking at filing chapter 7, but the lawyer has to go through all our debts and info to assure that we can. In initial consultation, he thought we likely could. In the counseling session, we budgeted pretty reasonably and could account for acceptable spending without having ANY money left over to pay debts. Scary. I'm not sure how long it stays on our credit report. We will have another class before our bankruptcy is discharged, that I believe addresses budgeting and rebuilding our credit. Even if it takes years to rebuild our credit rating, we'll still be better off than we would be trying to pay off debts that are insurmountable.

The woman who did our counseling session seemed to insinuate that Chapter Thirteen would not be a very viable option for us, not because of the amount of money we're in debt so much as the number of creditors we have. We couldn't even afford to pay them each ten dollars a month!

We were told to contact our local Legal Aid Society if we don't file (which is likely a moot point anyway, but...) because, previously unbeknownst to us, we may be exempt from garnishment due to our qualifying for Medical Assistance in Minnesota. Wish I'd realized that in December when our account was levied!

[purr]

10. The attorney I spoke with on the phone with yesterday said

you can take the classes online - whats all involved? Is it long? I have quite a few creditors as well and I used to have excellent credit until it started becoming way too much to overcome. I'm going to have to call our legal aid today and see what they have to say. He said its goign to be $1500 and they will accept payment plans - good thing since I cant afford to pay my bills much less $1500 upfront.

I just want to be able to afford everyday life again.. luckily I havent had anything shut off yet :)

[LaraMN]

17. We did our session over the phone. It took an hour.

Once we get some forms from Lutheran Social Services (the organization we had the session through)we submit some information (driver's license, pay stubs, etc) and they will send our lawyer a certificate of completion. We were required to complete the session before we can file. Our lawyer is charging about $1,000, including filing fee, but I think that amount will go up, as we have more than the "up to twenty" creditors the forms from him state may be filed under the specified cost structure outlined. We have to pay $350 up front, then the filing charges, and the balance we can make payments on.

[kick-ass-bob]

7. Find a lawyer and ask his/her opinion.

Find a single practice person - big firms don't always have your best interest in mind. If they are good, they will tell you all your options and which one would be best for you to do.

[purr]

11. I have a small firm that I found..

I get to see him Thursday at 12. I hope hes good!

[Lars39]

16. You need to find a certified bankruptcy lawyer. Here's a good site:

www.moranlaw.net
We filed chapter 13 in Oct. Fwiw, the other lawyers' cases didn't go nearly as smoothly as ours.
The uncertified lawyers just weren't as prepared and knowledgable. Good luck! :hug:

[Omphaloskepsis]

8. This is anecdotal.

My sister and her husband filed a few years ago (I think 2001). Chapter 7, I think. They were about 40K in debt from credit cards. About 150K from a mortgage and 30K in auto loans. About 2 years later they got 200K to buy a house and could get credit cards. And now they just got a loan with a decent interest rate for about 400K for a new house.

I'm sure they just updated the bankruptcy laws so check with a lawyer. But they were able to recover and the whole thing didn't seem very painful.


I was in a situation similar to yours. Legal aid told me to not worry about it. I didn't make enough for them to garnish my wages. So I would just hang up when they would call. 5 years later and it really hasn't affected me much.

But - don't fuck off student loans. Trust me.

[GalleryGod]

9. What happened with your Student loans?

eom

[kick-ass-bob]

12. student loans cannot (except under VERY unique circumstances)

be discharged via bankruptcy. (federal loans, that is)

[LostinVA]

13. You are legally obligated to pay them

Unless they are completely private loans. If you don't pay, the Feds WILL come after you. You're stuck with 'em.

[purr]

14. My husband has been fucking around with his student loans

they take his tax return every year. What did you do with your student loans? He has about 12k in student loans and didnt even graduate!

I wonder.. can I go and max out my one credit card and buy a huge tv and then file? LOL just kidding.. but wait... can you really do that? Something tells me no. I wouldnt do it - dnt need anymore issues than I already have.

[kick-ass-bob]

19. Ooh lord no.

There is a window that you aren't supposed to use the cards before you file, and if you do, they look down on you very much (maybe even fraud charges?)

So no - a very bad idea.

:)

[purr]

20. Is there really?

So I should go get my new washer and then say in a few months do it? I need a washer bad. Crap.

[Floogeldy]

18. Never, ever, ever . . .

Don't ever feel bad about availing yourself of the rights and privileges offered under the law. That is what they are there for.

:)

[purr]

21. I just feel bad for getting myself this deep in the hole

that I cant see out of it. :(