Well, talked to my debt settlement company today and they told me the card that is suing us wants 200.00 per month. Mind ya, I pay the debt settlement company 400.00 per month. WHICH then leaves 200.00 per month there after.

GUESS what? They said that they can't lower my payment to accomodate the 200.00 monthly payment that I need to come up with the difference. I told them that I had no choice but to pay them 200.00 or I would have to drop out of the program.

Well, guess what again? My admin fees end JULY...so they have all THEIR money and they were not as understanding today with me and could not advice me on anything other than I would have to continue to make payments to them on time. I told her that I wanted to drop out of the program and she said she would see what she could do for me and that she would call me back.

GUESS WHAT? She has not called me back. I don't think she will either. In the mean time, I contacted a lawyer and I am filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
I go Thursday with my papers and my information. He is working with me on my payments to them. He told me not to tell the settlement company yet. See, I am not paying them next month, I am paying our lawyer.

My question is: DO I just call the settlement company and tell them I am dropping them and stop sending them money and close my acct at my bank.
I have this acct open that is ONLY used for me to deposit their monthly payment in and they debit it out. Their name is not on my acct, so I can close it and not get a hot check if they try to debit from it right? What if they try to tell me I owe them July Payment? Because I am paying out lawyer with it.

I was told that with Chapter 7 we can keep our house, two vehicles and all of our furniture/household items. So, this makes me happy. Previously I assumed I would have to give up our personal belongings in our home and etc.

I feel a ton of pressure already taken from me already. Oh, and he thinks he can slow down the card that is suing us from going on to court for a hearing...I am Thankful for that....

I should have done this in 2005.

Now, has anyone here survived bankruptcy and are you able to get another vehicle after bankruptcy for decent payments, like a year later or so? We have a 1989 that is on its last leg. I have been told that with our good house payment and truck payment never being late, and with paying on them for another two years would rebuild most of our credit, plus I have one credit card acct still open that I pay on monthly on time.

I am just still kind of nervous.

I also told him that my husband and I have seperated and got back together and have filed seperatly for years now and he said that was fine!!!! Many couples split up while under a financial situation like this.

I find it hard to believe that I am ready to file bankruptcy and ready to be able to breath without worry any more.

Any suggestions for me?

You will be able to buy the vehicle using the same lender that financed your last one because of your payment history. I filed chapter 7 ten years ago and was able to finally "breath". I have no regets. Keep paying what you have open on time. You do not have to file against all your creditors. Bankruptcy is not the end of the world. It is more important how you pay afterwards. Get a secured credit card if you need additional payment history.

With the new laws you do have to include all creditors in a chapter 7. If you leave someone out and the trustee finds out you will have your case thrown out. You can reaffirm the debts you want to keep, but you can't pick and choose what to file on anymore.

Also, I'm trying to figure out why your lawyer told you that you can keep your house in a chapter 7. Since your car is old as you said then you probably will get to keep it. But the house? A portion of the equity in your house is exempt, but if you don't have any equity in it, then you don't own any of it. Plus, if you still owe payments you'd be doing a chapter 13, not a 7 to save the house, right?

Also, to file a chapter 7 you have to pass a means test. They make it sound really hard and tough, but as long as you make under the median income for your state, it's really easy. If you make over, then you have to answer a bunch of questions, and they don't use your actual expenses, but the average expenses for your area.

Here are the state exemptions for Oklahoma:

oklahomabankruptcyattorney.net/gpage.html

If you have no equity in your house, and are still making payments on it, it seems like it would make more sense to file a chapter 13 . . . . . Since you'd be able to keep the house then. Or can you just reaffirm your house payments?

You will be able to buy a new car after you file . . . . Within literally days of your filing you will start receiving tons of crappy offers for financing. It's probably best to wait at least a year or so before you buy a car, because the interest rate will be a bit better.

If your two vehicles add up to more then $7500, you will be required to give up one of them.

I'd be sure to question about keeping the house, maybe it's because you don't have a lot of equity in it that you are able to do a 7 and still keep it by reaffirming the payments. I was always under the impression that if you owned a house you had to do a 13, but I could be wrong on that.

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How I make some extra cash

I earn at least $20 extra every month doing offers. And you don't have to pay a cent.

Goudah, you are right, it is a Chapter 13 in which you keep the house and car, as well as the other property, not a Chapter 7, unless the financing company allows you to reaffirm the debt, alot of times they don't reaffirm. And with the new law, the debtor can't pick or choose from a 7 or 13, it is based on the means test, and most people are forced into a 13 not a 7 by the trustee.

I will yield to you guys. I filed ten years ago and kept my house and did not have to file against Amex or Sears. Because I was in good standing with them. But that was ten years ago in NJ

These new bankruptcy laws are not set up to help the debtor only to screw them over in their time of need. I've seen a number of my neighbors fall on hard times, when I filed bankruptcy almost 5 years ago, it did give me some relief, but it is also very very difficult. I don't know how people are doing it under these new laws, my neighbors are worse off now than before they filed bankruptcy. Also being told they can not file a chapter 7 and forced into a chapter 13. Chapter 13 has been difficult surviving but I really don't know how people are doing it now with the new laws.

I go to court for my chapter 13 on July 10th. I just made my first payment towards the plan last week. It is making things awful tight since we couldn't pay our bills in the first place and now we have this plan payment to make.....but we will survive somehow. I am just thankful it was even an option because if not I don't know what we would have done.

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Well, our total morgage payment on home that sits on 1 acre and total amount was 62,000. and we have paid on it 5 years and our pay off is 59,000. We have no equity in it, and our payments are current. The lawyer said we can keep our truck and house with the chapter 7.

we are paying on a 2002 truck, two more years actually.
we have a 89 bronco- paid 1500.00 for it.
a 96 blazer that I can't sell to the salvage for 25.00. We have it packed full of storage.

I don't think we will have to worry about the means test. We are struggling hard and living pay check to pay check. My husband may have a spare 50-60 buck per month for emergency or etc. And I may have about 80.00 spare a month for emergencys. If I get sick and go to Dr. my co pay is 50.00 for Dr and Medications...there goes that.

We have a riding lawn mower
a push mower
two shed buildings...small. We paid 80.00 for the both of them.

Home items are nothing spectacular...
couch, recliner
tv and two kid tv's.
bedding, kitchen ware, clothing.
my rings that don't total 500.00 for all 6 of them.
My husband has hunting guns and a bow
We have a drum set we bought at pawn shop for 100.00
(2) guitars and a bass with amps. Value 500.00 if that.

Now, I am scared. But looking at my credit report last night, we have one other card that is up in 7500.00 with rising interest that can do the same as the BOA that pressed lawsuit. I think our best bet is to do the bankruptcy now.

The problem is with the new BK laws they don't go by your actual expenses . . . . They could care less. They go by the census bureaus numbers on average expenses for your area. They don't care if you are stuggling paycheck to paycheck, it all doesn't matter. If you make more then the median income, you are pretty much screwed for filing a chapter 7.

In Oklahoma, if you and your husbands combined income before taxes is less then $43,327, then you will qualify for a chapter 7. If you make more then that you will have to file a 13. I know there are some exceptions, but very few and very difficult to qualify for.

Goudah is right. Your attorney can tell you that you can file a chapter 7 but in the end it is up to the trustee and he can force you into a chapter 13 plan. Just the new bankruptcy law at work, and alot of attorneys still have difficulty understanding the new laws. The trustee, it seems, has more power these days, and you can bet they are not looking out for the debtor. They get a percentage payment monthly if you are in a chapter 13 as oposed to a chapter 7. These new laws were designed to protect the creditors not the debtors.

It's pretty much all a numbers game now . . . I found this info about the means test, it explains it well.

So if you and your husband make more then the median income, it's a complicated process that has to be done before your lawyer can say for sure wether or not you can file a 7. But since you do have a house involved, I would bet you will be forced into a 13.

I heard something on the radio the other day that with the new bk laws, something like 75% of all chapter 13's have failed . . . . . That's a scary percentage!

__________________
How I make some extra cash

I earn at least $20 extra every month doing offers. And you don't have to pay a cent.

That is right, I have become a member of a bk forum, it is full of valuable information, and attorneys as well as debtors are on there giving out accurate and helpful information about bk and life after bk, rebuilding credit, etc.......I have learned alot about bk and the new laws. And that number is right, very few are able to complete a chapter 13. I know a few people who were told by their attorney they qualified for a chapter 7 only to be forced into a chapter 13 at meeting of creditors with the trustee.

Steelers - Do you know if the people that were forced into a 13 had a house and that was the reason? Or was the income above the median?

I'm curious to know if you don't own a house or car, and your income is well below the median, but you do have a job if you could still be forced into a 13 . . . . .

For a household of 4 in Oklahoma, the median is 54,854.00 and we are BELOW that, so I plan on filing chapter 7.

I also found information where student loans could be included. In a year, I will be in the same position I am now when my deferment period ends. I found information where the lawyer can take my student loan amount and ask them to take 10 cents on a dollar, making my 49,000 loan into 5,000.00 and pay them 50.00 over the next 5 years and settle that seperate and out of court and discharge the rest in our chapter 7 bankruptcy.

I talked to my debt settlement company, got upset again. I told them if I decided to file bankruptcy, do I get my reserves back and they said YES within 6 days. I have 600.00 in reserves and that can pay my lawyer and help us out alot... I don't know if I should be this excited about filing bankruptcy. My debt settlement company told me it would be a very, very bad thing if I bankrupted, it would be on my credit for 10 years. I told her that I had bad credit now for 2 already and another Year and half in their program of bad credit already!! She then tried to tell me that my credit repaired its self more quickly in a program such as theirs. I told her, ok, what do I do when another card does the same as BOA? She told me, she could not answer that, I was playing russian rulliet.... (Does she really think!!!!!) I was took by them, I really believed they were the best way to go until this happened. She then told me, "are you receiving any other letters from attorneys?" I told her the last letter I received from BOA was last May, BAM, I was in paper last month and sued/served summons this month!!!! That fast, it can happen with our other remaining 4 high card balances.

She wished me luck....go figure.

But because of your house you probably won't be able to file a 7. There is no guarantee when you have a house involved. To save the house you would have to file 13.

I could be totally wrong, but I've never heard of anyone filing a chapter 7 and keeping their house.

To save the house in a chapter 7 you HAVE to have the loan reaffirmed, and there is no guarantee that the banks will do that, they may say no, they are not required to reaffirm the debt. And you can not abolish student loan debt through any bk, 7 or a 13. The new law even goes so far as to state that if you consolidated your student loans privately through a bank, you are still going to have to pay off those student loans. And after a 13, whatever balance is left owed on the student loans, you will carry with you after the chapter 13. Chapter 7 effects your credit for 10 years, a chapter 13 effects your credit for 7 years. I am telling you this, there is no way that your student loan balance of $49,000 is going to be reduced to $5,000. It just isn't going to happen, it may be that you will payoff 10% of the loans through a chapter 13 plan, but you would still be responsible for the balance. Getting those student loans knocked down, just isn't going to happen. I am telling you that right now, and I know that isn't something you probably want to hear. I have been there.