I wanted to file before 10/17 but the 2 lawyers in town that do
bankruptcies demand payment up front, and I just don't have the $1200 to
do it.

The lease on my truck ended last week, so right now I am walking
everywhere. I have been told that this could cause a problem in a chpt7
too, because I have so few expenses right now besides rent and basic
necessities (not counting my cc payments). For example, if my total
expenses was $1000 and my net income was $1200, would they still let you
file for a chpt7.

I am single, I make about $16,000 gross a year and I have about $14,000
in unsecured debt. I have no other debt.

Because I have no vehicle, I can put alot more money into paying my
credit cards down, but the interest rates are so high that I don't think
it will make much difference. I also am trying to save some money so I
can file with a lawyer, of course now I am going to have to save closer
to $3000 instead of $1200.

What is my best bet.....

1) just pay the minimum on my cc's and use any extra money that I save
to build up my savings, so I can pay a lawyer and file under the new law

2) just use the extra money to try to pay off my cc debt. if I paid an
extra $250 a month (on top of the interest) I could possibly pay my debt
off in 5 or 6 years. Of course, I wouldn't have a life, no vehicle, no
savings, and no brand new start if I did this.

By the way, my debt came from being out of work in 1997 and 1998 because
of back problems. I did not receive anything from my employer because
they determined that my back problems came from years of lifting weights
and not 20 years doing warehouse work. Anyway, I voluntarily quit and
rested my back for 2 years and now I have no back problems, except the
$14,000 in cc debt that is a pain in the butt. In 1999, I went back to
work at the same place and have been there since.

On Wed, 5 Oct 2005 12:44:35 -0400, KeeponChooglin@webtv.net (Curly C)
wrote:
I wanted to file before 10/17 but the 2 lawyers in town that dobankruptcies demand payment up front, and I just don't have the $1200 todo it.

There are lawyers who will take payments. Ask the lawyers who you
spoke with which ones, they will usually refer. (Mine did)The lease on my truck ended last week, so right now I am walkingeverywhere. I have been told that this could cause a problem in a chpt7too, because I have so few expenses right now besides rent and basicnecessities (not counting my cc payments). For example, if my totalexpenses was $1000 and my net income was $1200, would they still let youfile for a chpt7.

No, you are showing "Ability to pay" the cards. Unless you lost your
job, or had some medical bills which were immensly high, they'd make
you do a Ch 13.I am single, I make about $16,000 gross a year and I have about $14,000in unsecured debt. I have no other debt.

Have you thought of trying for transfers? To a lower credit card?Because I have no vehicle, I can put alot more money into paying mycredit cards down, but the interest rates are so high that I don't thinkit will make much difference. I also am trying to save some money so Ican file with a lawyer, of course now I am going to have to save closerto $3000 instead of $1200.What is my best bet.....1) just pay the minimum on my cc's and use any extra money that I saveto build up my savings, so I can pay a lawyer and file under the new law

Possibly....2) just use the extra money to try to pay off my cc debt. if I paid anextra $250 a month (on top of the interest) I could possibly pay my debtoff in 5 or 6 years. Of course, I wouldn't have a life, no vehicle, nosavings, and no brand new start if I did this.

That depends if you want to. Yes, no vehicle, no no savings, but no
bills afterward and a fairly good rating.By the way, my debt came from being out of work in 1997 and 1998 becauseof back problems. I did not receive anything from my employer becausethey determined that my back problems came from years of lifting weightsand not 20 years doing warehouse work. Anyway, I voluntarily quit andrested my back for 2 years and now I have no back problems, except the$14,000 in cc debt that is a pain in the butt. In 1999, I went back towork at the same place and have been there since.

I'm rather surprised they'd let you back...If they felt you were
"Scamming" them before, what happens now if you DO get badly injured?
Please note, I am not a lawyer.

""""""There are lawyers who will take payments. Ask the lawyers who you
spoke with which ones, they will usually refer. (Mine did)"""""""

Again, the ONLY 2 lawyers in town that do bankruptcies won't.

"""""""Have you thought of trying for transfers? To a lower credit
card?""""""""

Any new card will only give me $500-$1000 credit to start with because
of my income. It would take 28 cards to transfer my total debt.

""""""""I'm rather surprised they'd let you back...If they felt you were
"Scamming" them before, what happens now if you DO get badly
injured?"""""""""

They knew I wasn't scamming them....MRI's don't lie. They told me to not
even bother to file for workman's comp because I won't get it as a
result that they blamed years of powerlifting for my back problems. So I
quit and gave my back some rest. I did keep lifting though because that
is what keeps my back strong. If I laid around on the couch all day
doing nothing, I would be a cripple.
Anyway, my injury never cost the company a penny. Now you know why my
credit cards are where they are. If I got the damn workman's comp, I
wouldn't be in the situation I am in today.

On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 00:57:47 -0400, KeeponChooglin@webtv.net (Curly C)
wrote:
""""""There are lawyers who will take payments. Ask the lawyers who youspoke with which ones, they will usually refer. (Mine did)"""""""Again, the ONLY 2 lawyers in town that do bankruptcies won't.

Look further afield...Another town maybe."""""""Have you thought of trying for transfers? To a lower creditcard?""""""""Any new card will only give me $500-$1000 credit to start with becauseof my income. It would take 28 cards to transfer my total debt.

Bummer...""""""""I'm rather surprised they'd let you back...If they felt you were"Scamming" them before, what happens now if you DO get badlyinjured?"""""""""They knew I wasn't scamming them....MRI's don't lie. They told me to noteven bother to file for workman's comp because I won't get it as aresult that they blamed years of powerlifting for my back problems. So Iquit and gave my back some rest. I did keep lifting though because thatis what keeps my back strong. If I laid around on the couch all daydoing nothing, I would be a cripple.Anyway, my injury never cost the company a penny. Now you know why mycredit cards are where they are. If I got the damn workman's comp, Iwouldn't be in the situation I am in today.
No problem there, don't get mad I was just curious as the employer
is also part of the deal in some cases.

I'm not going to ask why you didn't fight, at your level of pay, I
doubt finding a lawyer would have been easy.


In addition, you also fall WAY below the median income more the
likely. If you want more assistance, check out the website below. Many
epople who HAVE gone through BK and other areas of credit problems.

http://www.bankruptcyforum.com/

"Curly C" <KeeponChooglin@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:2946-4344AECB-73@storefull-3155.bay.webtv.net... """"""There are lawyers who will take payments. Ask the lawyers who you spoke with which ones, they will usually refer. (Mine did)""""""" Again, the ONLY 2 lawyers in town that do bankruptcies won't.

The rule may vary depending upon the federal district in which the
bankruptcy court is located. In the district in which I practice I must
collect all chapter 7 fees before filing because I am subject to the same
automatic stay and discharge that governs any other pre-petition unsecured
creditor. IOW, any fee I don't collect before filing a chapter 7 is either
stayed from collection or discharged by operaton of law. And I am barred by
the Bankruptcy Code and cannons of ethics from even asking the post-filing
debtor to pay.

On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 15:28:49 -0700, JoblessDave <JoblessDave@notlisted.us> wrote:
: "Curly C" <KeeponChooglin@webtv.net> wrote in message
: news:2946-4344AECB-73@storefull-3155.bay.webtv.net...
: > """"""There are lawyers who will take payments. Ask the lawyers who you
: > spoke with which ones, they will usually refer. (Mine did)"""""""
: >
: > Again, the ONLY 2 lawyers in town that do bankruptcies won't.
:
: The rule may vary depending upon the federal district in which the
: bankruptcy court is located. In the district in which I practice I must
: collect all chapter 7 fees before filing because I am subject to the same
: automatic stay and discharge that governs any other pre-petition unsecured
: creditor. IOW, any fee I don't collect before filing a chapter 7 is either
: stayed from collection or discharged by operaton of law. And I am barred by
: the Bankruptcy Code and cannons of ethics from even asking the post-filing
: debtor to pay.
:

I think the Supreme Ct in the _Lamie_ case addressed much of this very
question. For some reason some callers tell me "other" attorneys will
take the payments. I've told them they should go for it :(

All of the "payment plan" bankruptcy attorneys I ever heard of take payments
prior to filing. I think they say they can do the case, and they will start
preparing the forms etc., with an initial payment. Then when the client
pays the rest of the fee, they will file the petition.

Of course, that won't do the OP any good.

"Howard Goldstein" <hgoldste@mpcs.com> wrote in message
news:1128641019.82981@news.queue.to... On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 15:28:49 -0700, JoblessDave <JoblessDave@notlisted.us>
wrote: : "Curly C" <KeeponChooglin@webtv.net> wrote in message : news:2946-4344AECB-73@storefull-3155.bay.webtv.net... : > """"""There are lawyers who will take payments. Ask the lawyers who
you : > spoke with which ones, they will usually refer. (Mine did)""""""" : > : > Again, the ONLY 2 lawyers in town that do bankruptcies won't. : : The rule may vary depending upon the federal district in which the : bankruptcy court is located. In the district in which I practice I
must : collect all chapter 7 fees before filing because I am subject to the
same : automatic stay and discharge that governs any other pre-petition
unsecured : creditor. IOW, any fee I don't collect before filing a chapter 7 is
either : stayed from collection or discharged by operaton of law. And I am
barred by : the Bankruptcy Code and cannons of ethics from even asking the
post-filing : debtor to pay. : I think the Supreme Ct in the _Lamie_ case addressed much of this very question. For some reason some callers tell me "other" attorneys will take the payments. I've told them they should go for it :(

"Curly C" <KeeponChooglin@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:10271-434402F3-57@storefull-3158.bay.webtv.net... .......... What is my best bet..... 1) just pay the minimum on my cc's and use any extra money that I save to build up my savings, so I can pay a lawyer and file under the new law .............

If you are sure you are going to file bankruptcy, don't make any payments at
all to the credit card companies or to any other unsecured debtor (including
utilities, etc). It's too bad you didn't start that process sooner because
you could have stopped your payments on the vehicle and everyone else and
use the money you didn't pay out to pay for a bankruptcy attorney. If you
timed in all correctly, you wouldn't have to worry about your utuilities
being turned off because as soon as you file they can't shut off your
utilities for an unpaid debt (but they may require a $100 security deposit
for your future service).

Any chance you could borrow the money from a friend or relative? You would
have to list that as another unsecured debt, but there is nothing to prevent
you from repaying any creditor you choose after the bankruptcy discharge.
And, while the bankruptcy case is pending, you can start saving up money
because you won't have to worry about paying many of the debts you are now
paying.

One final thought (probably not a good idea). I think you can personally
file a 2-page Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition before October 17. Then you
have a VERY short time after that to file the rest of the required forms --
10 days, I think. But the initial filing will start your bankruptcy, start
the automatic stay, and will get you in before October 17. If you don't
meet the 10-day deadline, your case will be automatically dismissed by the
bankruptcy court.

If things got really desperate, I suppose you could file the 2-page petition
on your own, then if you still don't have an attorney you could do your best
to fill out the rest of the forms and file them. Then, get an attorney and
the attorney will have to file amended returns on your behalf to correct any
errors you made on the forms you prepared on your own.

Overall, my vote is to stop paying all of your bills now, borrow the money
from a friend or relative, and get to a bankruptcy attorney immediately.

Good luck.

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 09:42:37 -0400, ElJay <LJ@LJLJ.LJ1> wrote:
: Of course, that won't do the OP any good.
:

I don't see how it could, not with him wanting to find someone to take
pre-petition atty fees after the 7 is filed.