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

I’m being sued by my electric company. (Connecticut Light & Power) I have a very high bill , as a result of being on several payment arrangements over the years, because I am low income. My daughter has severe, life threatening asthma, and I am on the medical protection program to ensure her safety. I tried to work out an agreement with the lawyer’s office handling the lawsuit, and originally, they were going to have me on a payment arrangement of /week, or so I thought. Now, they’re claiming that they’d need my month’s usage plus a payment towards the rest of the bill to be able to settle the lawsuit, which I can’t afford. I don’t work because I have complications from having Lyme disease, and I have PTSD, and my husband is only on unemployment, with only 6/week, when we have a mortgage payment of 1157.33 a month, and were already behind some. I explained this already, and they don’t want to help me at all. I just honestly need some serious legal advice. Without the judgement and cruel comments, please. Should i file bankruptcy? What happens if I have to go to court? I honestly don’t have the money, and am so afraid and confused right now. Please help!!!

And please, no cruel comments about my life. People on this site love to knock others down all the time, and right now, I have more than enough to deal with, obviously.

Thank you so much for your help, i really, genuinely appreciate it.

Technorati Tags: amp power, asthma, connecticut light, judgement, lawyer, legal advice, light amp, love, lyme, lyme disease, medical protection, money, mortgage payment, payment arrangement, should I file bankruptcy, unemployment

ok, My mother in law only makes 8100 a year. She earns this money from a death pension from when her husband died. She owns her home which is woth nothing, owns a car prolly worh about 1500. She owes about 20k in credit card debt. She uses it to buy food and medication because of her diabetes and is left with nothing every month. She spends about 400 a month on these three cards. So it’s just a viscious cycle of making the credit payments so she can buy her meds and food and pay her electricity.

To be honest, I don’t even know if it would be worth her filing bankruptcy or just stop paying the bills. I told her to stop paying them starting January, because she just can’t afford it.

I guess bottom line, can she stop paying her bills right now for a couple of months if we have to find an attorney to file or should she just stop paying them and dealing with the collection calls? I was gong to do a cease and desist letter to the three companies so they wont call or bother her. She just cana’t make it. She’s not going to sell her house, she’s 62 so a lien or judgement on house wouldnt matter, and she meets the means test.

Her three cards equal about 20k in debt. And they havne’ t been used for luxary items of course.

But is it true that they could not garnish her bank account or death benefit pension?

Please any information would be helpful. She cant make it and it’s hard for her.

Thanks in advance
**** Extra details. The Death annuity is a civil service retirement thing. He died when he was 35 and it that is the amount of what his ritirement would have been at 35. so that is what she gets and has for the last 35 years. She’s not a smart woman and doesn’t thnk of counseling hense why I’m asking you guys.
Reading FTC, it says retiremenet is not garnishable, and survivor annuity. But don’t know if it’s one or the other. Its just his retirement that he would have gotten at that age when he died.
So…..should she even file? Is it garnishable? She can’t take it out fo the bank…it comes from the US Treasurey.

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A few months back, I had to let my automobile go as a voluntary repossesion. Now, they are filing to put a ,000 judgement against me. After I pay my monthly bills and rent, I barely have enough left just for day to day living expenses, NO money in the bank, no assets, etc. WOULD THERE BE ANY VALUE TO FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY? If this judgement is placed, and my wages are garnished, or however they do it….I’ll sink right to the bottom! Any suggestions out there? Thanks.

Technorati Tags: assets, automobile, filing for bankruptcy, judgement, living expenses, money in the bank, voluntary repossesion, wages

I have been sick over a year. I have been battling it out with social security and have not received any income since my illness. I do not own any property, not even a car. It got repossessed during my illness. I had to break my lease and stop paying my credit cards. My total debt is around 80K. My credit is devastated. I found out my former landlord intends on getting a judgement. I have no money, but am allowed to live for free right now because of my parents. I’m 26. I went to law school for 2 years before I got sick. I bought a NOLO book on bankruptcy, but it seems like the process is stressful and confusing. I don’t have the money to hire an attorney. Nobody else has tried to sue me yet. My family said they would pay up to 2K for a bankruptcy lawyer as like a birthday/christmas present, but I feel bad because they have already been paying for so much (my medical bills, me living in their house). Should I file this myself, wait, or get the attorney? There is no way I can pay all these people back at this point.
Oh I have a free consultation on Monday.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy lawyer, christmas, credit cards, free consultation, judgement, landlord, law school, medical bills, money, nolo book, parents, social security

And can I file chapter 7 for a 00 medical bill and a 00 + god knows how much in interest for a judgement for lawyer fees when I lost a case 5 years ago?

Or is it possible I can file on my own and save the lawyer fees since I don’t have much money?????

Technorati Tags: chapter 7, god, judgement, lawyer fees, medical bill, much money

If I have retained an attorney and am in the process of filing bankruptcy, can a company still take your assets if they have recieved a judgement prior to your file date?

Technorati Tags: assets, file date, filing bankruptcy, judgement

I got a personal loan for the down payment on my house then once my job of two years ended the loan went to the lawyers office. I made arrangements with the office because I was getting unemployement at the time. When that ended I couldnt make payments anymore so I finally found a job and I had to play catch up with all my bills so now I recieved the judgement papers and I called the lawyers office and they wont give me any information on how much will they take out of my check once they find out where I work. I live in louisiana what can I do right now about the issue? Should I contact a lawyer to see if they can help me or start sending in payments because the office told me dont send any payments in or should I file bankruptcy ? What should I do please help me

Technorati Tags: job, judgement, lawyer, lawyers, louisiana, personal loan, should I file bankruptcy

I am currently being sued in civil court, and have no money for an attorney, the case has gone on for a year now in federal court, and have basically lost my business because of all the time I’ve put into defending myself from something I did not do, and am being "lawyered" to death by 6 lawyers. Because of all this, even if I "would easily win" if I could afford an attorney, I will have to file bankruptcy (chapter 7 for me).

Therefore, relating to an ONGOING CIVIL case and a need to file BANKRUPTCY, here’s my QUESTIONS if you would please use the same numbering system to answer them so I can keep track (thanks thanks thanks):

I would LOVE it if filing the bankruptcy would END the case so I could go on with my life, find another job, build another company etc. I read a lot of yahoo answers and one said “If they haven’t gotten judgment against you … then your bankruptcy filing can and will stop the case.”, but I need to be sure.

1) is there any ADVANTAGE to me in filing bankruptcy BEFORE the judgment (now is preferred so that I can go on with my life which has been destroyed)?…. and what will opposition do if they know I’ve filed for bankruptcy? Will they attempt to continue the case when they know the bankruptcy will go thru? If so, why would they continue the case?

2) Since I’m going to be filing In advance" of the judgement, can I "claim" the "injuries" they haven’t yet enumerated " …on my petition for bankruptcy? …or do I just “list the case” and say “amount pending”? THANKS.

I know about the "automatic stay" (keeps creditors (I currently have NONE and a perfect credit score I’ve worked hard to build all my life) from coming after you etc).

3) After I file for bankruptcy (I know it takes so many months to go thru), these additional related questions, thanks:

3a) what happens to the current civil case?
3b) what do i tell the judge? Do i have to tell the judge or just inform the other side?
3c) will i still have to finish the case (expected one more year of my life)?
3d) if we’re currently in discovery, will it / can it stop discovery / subpoenas etc?
3e) ….or…does it just “suspend” the case until the b/k procedings are over? …or does the case just continue on in real-time?

Thanks so much for answering all of these "sub-parts" to my ‘compound" question. They’re really important to my life and my families lives.
Ryan K,

That was totally useless. I can’t believe you actually answered 195 other people. You’re a joke.

Technorati Tags: 3b, bankruptcy chapter 7, bankruptcy filing, civil case, civil court, credit score, creditors, filing bankruptcy, job, judgement, judgment against, lawyers, money, numbering system, opposition, petition, yahoo, yahoo answers

I am deliquent on 7 cards for 3 months but only one card has been calling me since the payment was 2 days late. They have called me from 8 am till 10 pm, monday thru sunday. I have written to them and even sent small payments at first but have stopped that since I can’t afford it and it made no difference to them. Their law firm called me a few minutes ago (yes on a sunday morning). I have no money to pay them anything and am a couple months away from not even being able to pay rent, so the credit card bill is last on my list. I live in a cheap apartment in a bad area, walk or take the bus (have no car), nothing valuable and no money in the bank except when pay small paycheck goes in (I make about 700 month after taxes and also have a child to feed. I wanted to file bankruptcy but cannot find anyone in this state (Texas) that offers free legal aid. If I was a violent criminal, I could get an attorney, but for bankruptcy, no one will help. I was stable for 14 years.
circumstances changed for me last year and my world fell apart. If I do ever get to file bankruptcy, can it remove a judgement from a card company if they got one on me? I have no disposable income so I don’t know what they could really get.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, cards, cheap apartment, circumstances, credit card bill, disposable income, few minutes, free legal aid, judgement, monday thru sunday, money in the bank, paycheck, sunday morning, violent criminal

I was going through a hard time on the date of a court appearance, my son had been prematurely born in Sept, he was due in January. He passed away in Dec. They put a guilty plea for me because I didn’t go. The case was for some money that my ex had taken out of his dad’s account and we spent it. I know it was wrong, I was dumb. but now they are trying to pin all of the money on me…,000! I would have been willing to do some of it, but damn. So now they are trying to garnish my wages, the only option I can think of is bankruptcy, I have a lot of debt anyway and I really don’t care anymore. I’m young and I can handle it. But I need to know if that kind of judgement would stand through a bankruptcy ch7?

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, court appearance, dad, guilty plea, hard time, judgement, money, wages

I filed for Bankruptcy in California in 2004. I have just found out when trying to refinance that there is an abstract judgment filed in 2001 in Orange County. 2 part question, Should/Can I file a motion to re-open the chapter 7 and try to include the judgment and have removed? approx cost? The judgement was for ,500. I need the lowest cost option to remove the abstract judgment/lien.
Do I have any recourse on my title insurance because I wasn’t aware when I purchased my home in 2008 there was an outstanding judgment and was under impression the BK included everything? (The BK was due to medical emergency at the time, orginal BK attorney no longer has paperwork)

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, bk, chapter 7, insurance, judgement, judgment lien, medical emergency, orange county, paperwork, recourse, title insurance

I have stopped making the minumum payments on my credit cards since December of 08. In fact both me and my wife are delinquent in the credit cards. We both owe more than 60k in unsecured credit cards. Now we own a home but it has gone down in value meaning there is no equity at all. We are leasing a car which means we don’t own it but obviously we need it to get around. We are both self employed and we have our own business which is an LLC. We don’t pick up on the collectors nor the credit cards when they call and now my wife recently got a summons to appear in court for one of the credit cards that she is delinquent on. Anyways all the furniture we have in the house has already been paid for. We have no other assets and we only have like 00 in the bank. With that said do we need to file for bankruptcy or let them get judgements against us because it isn’t gonna matter since we have no assets except the stuff I mentioned above. If we let it play out and not do anything about this, what can the creditors do even if they get a judgement. At this point we don’t care about our credit. Please advise or should I still file for bankruptcy chapter 7. Let me know. Thanks

Technorati Tags: assets, bankruptcy chapter 7, creditors, furniture, judgement, judgements, leasing a car, own business, summons, unsecured credit cards

I have an outstanding small claims judgement against her for k but when I went to collect, she filed bankruptcy.

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, judgement, small claims

Got laid off and cannot afford to pay mortgages. I have 1st home refinanced and cashed out ,000 3 years ago when all was still good. Total balance left is ,000 First home is only under my name which was rented out.

Then we bought a bigger house 2 yrs ago at the peak of housing and Our 2nd home was under my name and my wife this time which became our primary residence which was also foreclosed recently. Balance owed on 2nd mortgage is ,000 was not paid during the auction (purchase loan not refinanced). Both 2nd mortage lenders are now asking for payment on the deficit. I have around ,000 credit card debt also. My questions are;

1) Will any of the 2 2nd mortgage lender be able file judgement against me here in California for garnishment?

2) Considering the concerns above, would it be better to file for bankruptcy? We do not have any car loans as 2 cars is fully paid.

3) If bankruptcy is an option, should I file on my own only considering it is only I who’s on the 1st home 2nd loan which was refinanced and only I who is owing all the ,000 credit card debt? Or is it better for us to BOTH file?

4) Will we be issud a 1099 for tax on those deficit? Are those not going to be forgiven?

5) If we don’t file for bankruptcy what is the advantage considering we have forclosed homes on our record? I noticed all our credit card limit are getting lower and lower every month bec. of the foreclosure.

I appreciate all the help I need in this difficult times. thank you!!

Technorati Tags: 3 years, auction purchase, bankruptcy, bec, car loans, cars, credit card debt, credit card limit, difficult times, forclosed homes, foreclosure, garnishment, judgement, mortage lenders, mortgage lender, mortgages, purchase loan

My husband and I have about ,000 in past due debt right now. My main question, should I file bankruptcy if our debts are already old? According to Experian, "This account is scheduled to continue on record until Nov 2012" …actually some start coming off 2010 through 2012. I don’t know how confident I am that they will be off my record come 2010-2012…but if I file bankruptcy it will be 2019! can anyone give me advice on this…do the negative reports actually come off and if so, when? Or should I file bankruptcy? Sooo confused!!
Thank you all for your help. To add more details Jimbo – We do own our own home, I am not being garnished at work but my husband and I both have received Judgements on a few of our accounts..mine a few years back. His most recently in 2008. But no garnishments have come about from this…
Thank you! If I did not show up for court…is the judgement automatically awarded?

Technorati Tags: debts, garnishments, judgement, judgements, should I file bankruptcy

TN has the higest rate of personal bankruptcies in this country.
Obama voted against the 2005 BK bill which Bush signed into law. McCain voted for it.
This new law was a gift to the CC/banking industry & has caused many who need the fresh start of BK more hardship.
Yet, McCain is probably going to win TN in the general election.
He will never make any amendments to this law. Given the chance, Obama may.
This is so sad that some people in TN will vote against their own best financial interest, having been brainwashed to thinking things like flag pins are more important.
Some of you who would judge anyone who has filed bankruptcy have not walked in anyones elses shoes & like the Bible says, you heap judgement upon yourself when you judge others.
You may have your plans now and there is nothing wrong with that, but God may have other plans for you someday and you may need the protection bankruptcy offers!
Abe Lincold did. So did Henry Ford, Walt Disney and many others!

Technorati Tags: abe, amendments, amp, banking industry, bankruptcy, bible, bk, elses shoes, financial interest, flag pins, ford, fresh start, general election, heap, henry ford, judgement, lincold, mccain, personal bankruptcies, walt disney

I called capital one’s lawyer and they told me that they filed a lawsuit and i can’t afford 12k to pay back in judgement. I dont know when is the court date but i cant pay the judgement and i’m only 20 years old and i dont want to file bankrupcty at that age. what should I do or what should i tell the judge on my finacial situation? I’m on a stage of confusion and i want to get out of this debt. I just need to know what would the judge do or what can i say to the judge about my situation? Please help

Technorati Tags: capital one, confusion, judgement, lawyer

I lost my drivers license from a insurance judgement.I owe 20,000 in child support I just got laid off my job. And I owe taxes.

Technorati Tags: drivers license, insurance, job, judgement

I have received a notice of eviction for 2/28 and am planning to file for bankruptcy. To include the debt due for the eviction, should I file the bankruptcy papers before or after the judgement with the eviction?

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy papers, judgement, notice of eviction