Filing for bankruptcy

[GalDisney]

I am in thefinancial position where, unfortunately I have come the the conclusion filing for personal BK is what i need to do. I am scared to do it, for some reason. Does anyone have any experiience with this? What am i getting into? I am going to call an attornety today and make an appt. for an initial consultation.

 

[dismom24]

I don't have any experience, but I know that the creditboards.com (hope it's Ok to put that, if not please remove and accept my appology) have a bk thread and their site is very informative. I'm so sorry for what your going through and wish you the best.

 

[Justin the Hook]

I am in thefinancial position where, unfortunately I have come the the conclusion filing for personal BK is what i need to do. I am scared to do it, for some reason. Does anyone have any experiience with this? What am i getting into? I am going to call an attornety today and make an appt. for an initial consultation.

You must be reading my mind today. I was just about to post the same thing. I am upbeat about it right now and might not be when I talk to a lawyer, but I am unsure if I can get myself out of this financial mess I created. We know how to save money for Disney, but that is about it.

 

[aja319se]

I unfortunately did file about 6 yrs ago when I got divorced. So I made it right before all the rules changed I think. It wasn't fun, and it wasn't cheap and it has been a long struggle trying to rebuild my credit but I am slowly getting there. Best of luck in your decision I know it's not easy.

 

[mamilovesdisney]

You can pm me but also I used bkforum.com for a lot of help too. I am happy to chat with you about it.

Mami

 

[johnsontrio]

My advice would be to get good advice from someone you can trust. I would not go to one of these lawyers that advertise and handle only bankruptcy. I would try and get a personal referral to a lawyer that a friend knows.

I have been hearing lately of unscrupulous lawyers, I know you can't hardly even believe they exist , that steer their clients into Ch 13, telling them they don't qualify for Ch 7, and negotiate settlements where the payment is unaffordable to the client. From what I've been told, the lawyers make more money off the Ch 13 and know the client will be back again to file Ch 7, when they are underwater from the high payments.

If you decide to pursue this please be realistic and make sure the payment you negotiate is one you can reasonably make.

Good luck.. I know that is a terrible and anxiety provoking situation that you are in. Try and take care of yourself and your health. The rest is only money..

 

[GalDisney]

Actually, I am looking to ffile Ch. 7. I am sure i would qualify as I own nothing and have a low income. No way i could handle any payments so no way i could do ch. 13.

 

[caitty13]

You can pm me but also I used bkforum.com for a lot of help too. I am happy to chat with you about it.

Mami

I second this one. You can find a lot of information. Good luck. I know just what you are going through.

 

[kctaylor]

We just went through this about year ago. We were refered by a friend to a bk lawyer. I was so uneasy about this, but our lawyer was very nice. Walked us through every step of the way. This was the hardest thing I had to do. We are now rebuilding our credit and taking one day at a time. I am still embarassed about it and avoid the conversations when bk is brought up. But I will have to say, it was a smart choise on our part now. Things are starting to look up, I figuer we take two steps forward and three steps back, but have been given a second chance to move in the right direction. Good luck on you choice.

 

[Justin the Hook]

We still aren't sure what to do. We have a house and 2 cars that I can make the payments on plus all the utilities, but it is the extra stuff that we have been accumulating over the past 10 years that is hurting us. So I am unsure if we could even file for chapter 7 and 13 seems like too much.

 

[1PrincessMomma1]

We still aren't sure what to do. We have a house and 2 cars that I can make the payments on plus all the utilities, but it is the extra stuff that we have been accumulating over the past 10 years that is hurting us. So I am unsure if we could even file for chapter 7 and 13 seems like too much.

FWIW in most if not all states you can keep your house and car. Good luck to all of you.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I filed in Jan 2001 and it was the best thing I ever did. I had just been unjustly fired and had surgery all in Dec 2000 and didn't know what I was going todo and I also had a grandmother with severe Alzheimers with need for someone to care for her, so I really had no choice but to file. I married in Dec 2001 and we now own 2 autos (1 had been my moms when she passed away last year)and our home and have rebuilt our credit. I was actually able to get a CC 7 months after my BK was discharged and I worked on building it from there.

ETA: I was able to keep my car and cell phone. I didn't own anything else at that time.

Suzanne

 

[bumbershoot]

OP,

...but I am unsure if I can get myself out of this financial mess I created. We know how to save money for Disney, but that is about it.

We still aren't sure what to do. We have a house and 2 cars that I can make the payments on plus all the utilities, but it is the extra stuff that we have been accumulating over the past 10 years that is hurting us. So I am unsure if we could even file for chapter 7 and 13 seems like too much.

since you don't know what to do, have you looked at Dave Ramsey's stuff? Google him and read everyone you can on his website (some stuff links to a paid forum, ignore those things, you can get a lot of info on the rest of the site), get his book Total Money Makeover from the library (I just did that!), and there are forums called livinglikenooneelse dot com that are incredibly helpful. Since you're not resigned to bankruptcy, there might still be time to pull yourself out of it. First step...dump the extra stuff!

Good luck!

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

It was the best thing we could have done!! We're almost 7 years out, so it was well before the changes, and we already had great credit, just ended up with like $30,000 in hospital bills (long story) and when we TRIED to get help from creditors they said no, nothing they could do. A year later when we decided to file for bankruptcy all of a sudden everyone wanted to "help" us, reduce debt, forgive late payments, etc.... well it was too late then!
Anyway, we were able to get a mortgage 2 years later with 2 yr fixed interest, saved and worked on credit and 2 years after that got a fixed mortgage. If you plan and are strict with yourself you can come out on the good side. Do make sure you use a good lawyer, they pay attention to YOU.. our lawyer did not, we had just a few bills we still had to pay, very little amounts, AND I spent a year "fixing" my credit because he didn't take care of all the paperwork needed and things were being reported wrong.
Good Luck

 

[wvjules]

It was the best thing we could have done!! We're almost 7 years out, so it was well before the changes, and we already had great credit, just ended up with like $30,000 in hospital bills (long story) and when we TRIED to get help from creditors they said no, nothing they could do. A year later when we decided to file for bankruptcy all of a sudden everyone wanted to "help" us, reduce debt, forgive late payments, etc.... well it was too late then!
Anyway, we were able to get a mortgage 2 years later with 2 yr fixed interest, saved and worked on credit and 2 years after that got a fixed mortgage. If you plan and are strict with yourself you can come out on the good side. Do make sure you use a good lawyer, they pay attention to YOU.. our lawyer did not, we had just a few bills we still had to pay, very little amounts, AND I spent a year "fixing" my credit because he didn't take care of all the paperwork needed and things were being reported wrong.
Good Luck

It is not your lawyers job to make sure the Credit Reporting Agencies report IIB accounts. If the creditors were notified then they should have updated the accounts properly. Shockingly, this doesn't happen all the time. CRA's are the devil! lol

 

[erincon23]

We're in the same position, unfortunately, lots of med bills and a couple of unemployments. I feel your pain! We're working with an attorney my hubby went to HS with -- he's been very honest and helpful. But the BK itself isn't cheap! (we consulted with several attorneys on cost, so we know we're not getting ripped off) Our BK is delayed because they average your 6-month income, and our income was too high on paper, but in the middle of the 6 month period when we first talked to the lawyer, my hubby had a 10% pay reduction and I lost one of my jobs and the other went on summer break (sub teacher). So we're holding off until September when the 6-month average will be more realistic for us -- and now we may be in bigger trouble because hubby's company may go under in the next few weeks to months, meaning if he can't find a new job (which he's been looking for) immediately, we'll lose the house too. I'm looking for a full-time job, he's looking, we've cut expenses to the bone -- I even sold my AP pass-along gift cards I got this week -- but I'm kind of panicky and very stressed.

Let's keep each other (all of us!) in our thoughts and hope the economy improves quickly and the lottery fairy visits us!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Not sure who posted a comment earlier, but you DO want to consult with attorneys who specialize in bk. No one says you have to use someone with giant ads in the yellow pages, but a quick call to your local bar association will give you some excellent referrals.

I don't personally have any experience with bk, but I am familiar with attorneys... Bk laws changed in 2005 and you want someone familiar with the practice, the trustees and the judges.

 

[Planogirl]

Wow, erincon. What a stressful situation you're in. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

 

[Justin the Hook]

Talked with Attorney on the phone and have a meeting Friday. He came highly reccomended and I really hopeful about our meeting. Told me that it was going to cost me aroun $1800 for everything. I don't think that is too bad, but I am going off the recommendations not what he charges.

 

[tinkmom2]

I would highly advise shopping around. We had to file bankruptcy in 2001. Let me tell you I think I would have reconsidered if I would have known the extent to which it has damaged our credit. We only paid around $700.00.
It is due to come off our public record in 2010 and some credit agencies in 2012. We want so badly to buy a house and are not able to now. We filed mainly because of medical bills. My oldest DH was born with bladder and kidney problems and had two surgeries. Just explore all your avenues first and go to someone who specializes in it.