Filing for bankruptcy

[mamilovesdisney]

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

I totally agree with this statement. The CRA's are the devil and make all kinds of mistakes that damage your credit more than what the BK already does. I had about a 700 when I filed and now two year later have a 636 as my highest and 570 as my lowest. The lowest are because of mistakes on my credit and I cannot get them to fix the mistakes. It is my word against the creditors and they believe them of course.

Few tips:

*Make sure you are clear on what the fee covers that you are quoted. The court fees are generally separate and in addition to the attorney fees. My attorney had payment plans that he offered with no interest. He is just a good man with a good heart.

* Ask your human resources office if your employers offers any attorney or legal plan. It is like health insurance but for legal issues. My employer offers ARAG. I paid my attorney $25 dollars total. Yes, it is hard to believe. Then I had to pay the $350 in court fees separately. I believe you can join ARAG on your own and there is also pre-paid legal but I don't know how good they are compared to ARAG.

* Emotionally, cut yourself some slack. It is a very difficult thing to go through. I am sure that there are those who take advantage of the system but you are not one of them. You are the reason why this process is created. One of the hardest things to deal with is the judgment of others and your own fear of whether you are doing the right thing or if this somehow reflects a failure on your part. It is only a failure if you don't learn from your mistakes. It is in the eye of the beholder.

Again, any questions, please feel free to pm.

 

[Justin the Hook]

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.

Thank you, This lawyer does specialize in bankruptcy and is one of the best in our area. We already own our home and haven't been using credit for anything in about 6 months. Our problem is that I owned my own cell phone business for about 3 years and had to close because of costs continued to increase and income continued to dwindle when all the major carries started doing their own business to business work. Tried to make it last a couple months too long and now I am paying for it.

 

[MELISAZACK]

Well we did it and are almost to the end of the 7 years. Dec 2002 I had ID theft done to me 60k later I owed and owed.. even though the girl was caught and procuded it was a white collar crime and Philly didn't think much of it.. in fact she never followed through with all her purnishment and there is a warrent for her arrest today. she had restutuion of $660.00 for 60k in debt gee thanks it really help me out "mr judge".. anyway that plus some high cc i did on my own I now was in troulbe. so hubby and i decided to do it.. work out great everything went in but HOUSE and CARS. We did Chapter 7.
within 1 year the CC offers started coming in. WE didn't take any we learned to live on a CASH system. have 2 yrs though we decided for saftey only to get a card - 3 years later we sold our house bought a new one and got a great rated 5.25% on the mortgage. as of today we still do a cash system and I am very proud of ourselves to be able to cont. that for 7 years now our only debt is car and house payments -- not to bad.. but HEY we learned from the mistake and vowed never to have it again.. so if you are strong willed you can manage and do well.

 

[mamilovesdisney]

We want so badly to buy a house and are not able to now.

You should check in your area regarding first time home buyer programs and hud. In my area, once your BK has been discharged and no more late payments subsequent to discharge, you qualify for first time home buyer programs again. I am sure you will still have to jump through hoops of fire and have your down payment saved but it is a good thing so you can be prepared for the huge responsibility... and I am referring to myself here. I don't qualify because I ended up having a medical incident that left me in a lot of debt for the med bills and I am back to the bill lottery. My debt repayment has April as my last month and I will be back on track. In any case, it is hopeful info to have for others.

 

[DisTwix]

Hey there!

I just wanted to let the couple of ya'll that have posted about thinking about filing that, again, you are not alone. I had to file Ch 7 in 2003, with it fully discharging in 2004. I simply had no choice but to do it, and it's turned out to have been a great decision for me. I had to foreclose on a home, but managed to keep my vehicle and cell phone.

Since then, I do have credit cards - one which I specifically got because they report monthly to credit agencies as a means of rebuilding my credit. I also now have a home (on just my income) - sure, I had to get stabbed in the heart with my initial mortgage rates, but refinanced after 2 years and got a totally standard rate. You can rebuild your credit, and many lenders have decent forgiveness policies and will work with you. Those first loans you get post-discharge will hurt in interest, but that's the price you pay. If you can suck it up, and keep up on the payments (always paying just a little more - even $5 more), you can eventually improve those loans.

Also, I'd like to say that while mistakes may have been made, and maybe some bad choices, the best thing you can do is look at your financial life squarely - own up to the bankruptcy, and don't be shamed by it. The best you can do is be honest with where you are NOW, and make better choices in the future. (And this isn't to be preachy, but it's something I had to go thru. The first couple times you end up telling someone that you had to file, I know I practically flinched from it.... but now it's not a problem. Sometimes it's the only way to get the nice Kohl's lady to leave you alone about the store credit card.... "LOOK LADY! I FILED BANKRUPTCY. I SAID NO!!!")

Anywho - good luck!!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

These threads never end nicely so I'm closing it with the recommendation that the OP (and anyone else interested) should visit the recommended websites for assistance with BK questions.