When To File Bankruptcy » creditor

Help! Do I get an attorney to file bankruptcy or do it myself?

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:01:49 +0000

So, I recently (a couple days ago) was served with court papers, I am being sued by a hospital for ,000. I have about k-100k in medical bills alone, so to avoid paying the ,000 I know I should just file bankruptcy. Today I had a consultation with an attorney, and I am SO confused still. It was a free 30 minute one, so maybe that’s why I felt really rushed and lost…but anyway. It’s going to cost about ,500 to file. I am a 25 year old BROKE college student who works part time at a retail store, this is a lot of money =/ ….I know it’d be easier and for sure would get the papers done RIGHT, if I had an attorney, but I don’t know if I can afford it. I know you can file yourself. Has anyone done this? My sister got a paralegal about 5 years ago, and filed herself. She said it was about 0, but she said the paralegal was helpful in helping her with the paperwork, BUT she did miss a few things. I feel like I’d be paying the lawyer to basically just go to the court and turn in the papers, and come with me to court. I still have to do all the dirty work of course…gathering my bills, filling out all the paperwork, etc…but I’m not sure if ,500 is worth having an attorney. Also, I am confused on this court paper I got. I know that they will eventually file a judgement against me (within 14 days) and start garnishing my checks, I understand bankruptcy can stop this. But is it only after your papers are completely filed and done? Or is it when you START the process? I am so lost! The attorney told me to try and get all this paper work gathered and figured out before 10 days so we can start it before the creditor starts coming after my money through the judgement. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you!

Technorati Tags: 100k, bankruptcy, checks, consultation, couple days, court papers, creditor, dirty work, judgement, lawyer, medical bills, money, paper work, paperwork, paralegal, part time, retail store

What happens when a credit company "writes off" your debt? What if you filed for bankruptcy?

admin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:53:58 +0000

I filed for bankruptcy Jan 2005. Credit card company "wrote off" the debt Jan 2005. I thought it was included with my bankruptcy, but when I check my credit report, it claims I still have the debt, it’s just written off. To be specific, my credit report states that I still have this amount from the one creditor as "revolving debt". Shouldn’t it state that it was included in Chapter 7 like all of the other creditors state? Any help would be wonderful. I just want to know if I have something valid to dispute.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, chapter 7, credit card company, credit report, creditor, creditors, jan 2005, report states, revolving debt

Have a court date for failure to pay a loan 1 day after I file for bankruptcy, would this save me?

admin — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:43:22 +0000

My husband and I have accumulated more debt than we can handle of the years and with two kids, we have decided to just file for bankruptcy. We just moved to another state at the end of December and have to wait 91 days before we can file. So, our 91 days are up on March 28th and that is when we intend to file. However, my husband co-signed a loan for someone and that person has not made the payments. Now we have a court date, that court date is on March 29th.

My question is for anyone who has been in a similar situation. If you have had to file bankruptcy and have a court date for a creditor the same day you file, can they still make you pay? We would just like to know if we go into court that day, saying that our lawyer filed the paperwork for a bankruptcy the day before or is in the process of filing the paperwork, would that save us from having to pay the debt if the debt is going to be included in the bankruptcy?

Any advice is helpful.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, creditor, lawyer, paperwork

Can past due HOA judgment/bank garnishment be discharged in Ch. 7 bankruptcy if I am trying to keep home?

admin — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:00:46 +0000

My HOA’s Attorney raked up excessive unjustified fees on me for their own personal gain. I was late paying my HOA fees initially and willing paid the stated late fees along with my HOA dues. However, the Attorney collecting these fees does not accept credit card payments over the phone or online, etc. Therefore, I mailed the amount owed. To my surprise, I later received another letter indicating I owed another 0 for late fees. I ignored this notice b/c I thought that they probably didn’t input my payment in their system prior to the letter going out. So I received another letter stating I owed the 0 plus additional fees, and so on. Basically, each time I paid the stated late fees via mail, the Attorney claimed my payment didn’t arrive on time to their Office, and therefore I owed additional late fees.

In addition, all of my payments were applied towards Attorney late fees rather than my HOA dues. My dues were only 0 per year, but within that year I paid over 0 in additional fees that were never applied towards the full amount owed to my HOA. The Attorney continued to take their money off the top and say that I still owed a balance towards my HOA dues. As a result, I stopped paying b/c I felt I was being ripped off and the fees continued to increase. They ended up suing me for the amount they claimed I owed along with more Attorney fees and court cost.

Since I mistakenly missed the initial court date, when I showed up for the second court date where they filed a judgment against me, they won simply b/c I missed the initial court date. Now they are garnishing my bank account for the amount owed from the judgment.

Currently, I’m unemployed and my home is in foreclosure. I recently filed chapter 7 bankruptcy to stop the sale of my home so I can have time to secure a job and work out a modification on my home loan and get it out of foreclosure. I have not had the meeting of creditor’s as of yet. Can I discharge the past due HOA fees from the judgment/garnishment? I am willing to pay the past due HOA fees I accumulated after the garnishment since I intend on keeping my property. Also, I live in Georgia. Thanks for your answers.

Technorati Tags: attorney fees, chapter 7 bankruptcy, credit card payments, creditor, foreclosure, hoa dues, home loan, job, judgment against, late fees, mail, money, personal gain, surprise

Is it better to file bankruptcy or just let collection call?

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:20:22 +0000

I bought my home in 2006 and put down $ 100k, yes its 20% down for a $ 500k house. I have put in another $ 50k in upgrades and remodel. Fast forward to 2009, laid off, no income I resort to using my credit card to pay my mortgage while my house was being listed by my realtor. 6 months went by, then a year, the house remained unsold. I’m up to my limit in credit card debt, thinking to sell the house for $ 350k, which will give me approx. $ 50k to pay my credit cards. Year and a half later, house is in foreclosure; credit card at max limit. No job, no car (sold it to pay credit card debt), ..and now living like a deadbeat.

Credit card companies still call and say "hello". Same story told to them over and over, no income, no job, no money etc. They "understand". Then they sell the debt to collection agency, same thing again. I told them my story..and they don’t care. "When are you gona pay?" I say with what? I can sell my t-shirt and underwear, but that might be worth 25 cents. What good will it do? So now, they are suing me in court. Went there and told the same story…judgment for the plaintiff. Okay, now they want to garnish my wage…but I don’t got no job. They want to freeze my bank acct…I have none. They want to..probably kick my ass..that they can definitely do..but that would hurt them, because if I get hurt and sue, they probably owe me money.

So here is my dilema, should I file Bankruptcy ..as there are other creditor waiting in line to sue me. Or should I go to court and and plea guilty but have no way to pay?

Yeah, I know..I’m a deadbeat, but I don’t blame my misfortune on no one except myself. Lost my life savings and people are laughing at me. What a cruel world this is. To file BK or not to file BK? If I do, I will have a fresh start says a friend. If I don’t, my friend says that the creditors will put my balance on my credit report, and renew it every 7 years…meaning that I can call the credit reporting agency to remove it, but they have a right and probably will repost my balance…as nothing had been collected. Is this true? I thought a negative item must be removed after 7 years, but it could be put back in and stay for another 7 years?? Please help. Thanks in advance.

Technorati Tags: bk, credit card debt, credit cards, creditor, creditors, cruel world, dilema, foreclosure, fresh start, judgment, max limit, misfortune, plaintiff, plea, realtor, remodel, should I file bankruptcy, t shirt, underwear, waiting in line