90 days before filing

Stop paying, wait, then file.

No, that is not true.

It's if you take out new credit within 90 days before filing that your case could be dismissed. It's there so people don't decide to file then go on a shopping spree.

Goudah,

So if you have been trying to pay your bills either on tyour own or thru a credit couselor, you can still file?

This is where I found that info, it was on totalbankruptcy.com

if you pay back any of your creditors, even one who is not a relative or close business associate ("insider"), at any time within the 90-day period prior to the filing of your bankruptcy case, the payment is an unlawful preference and the court may recover all such payments and distribute them to your other creditors

That doesn't mean that you can't file. What it means is that if you've paid some creditors and not others, the court could go back to the creditors that you've paid and get that money back and redistribute if "fairly" amongst all of your creditors.

Oh, ok. As long as you can still file. I havent paid all of them because obviously, I'm working on it and I don't have the money

I know what you're saying because I'm in the same boat. My husband and I will probably be filing Chapter 7 soon also. I did pay off one creditor that I have a very small balance with because that was the easiest one to cross off the list.

Here's a place where you can read more about it:
www(dot)kjrh.com/guides/legal/story.aspx?content_id=35b24026-db20-42f5-847a-8fccff7193d9

I can't do it as an active link per forum rules, so replace the "(dot)" with a "."

I would like to file soon, I had a consulation with a lawyer, his fee is 1500, I cannot afford that, I went to see if I can get legal aid, which I thought I could since I don't make much, but I can't get that either because they go by household income, and the person that I live with makes a lot more than me, so I was denied the free legal help. I don't want to make a mistake in filing myself and then having it denied and losing more money

$1500 seems to be about the average price from the several that I called (some were as much as $2000). I know that some do advertise that they will make payment arrangements, but I did read a post on the forum that said the attorney will not actually file the BK until his fee has been paid in full. I'm not sure if that is true for all of them or not.

yes, it was true for me. He said he would not file till I paid in full. That would take me months. I want this done right away because I have a judgement against me.

We had to pay our lawyer before we could file as well, the lawyer told us that it is actually illegal for him to file unless his fees have been paid. Apparently the file will not be accepted unless the lawyer has been paid.

Here in South Fla, our attorney took $250 to start the case and the total including courts costs was about $1900. We pay him monthly (no interest), once we make the final payment that is when we take the CC course and can file. So $1500 sounds about average.