Carlos Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 What is the total cost of bankruptcy. Since it involves a lawyer I am sure that it must be costly. I am weighing whether to try to stick it out with debt settlement, or just throw in the towel with a bankruptcy. Since both will kill my credit I am thinking of just going the most ecomnomical route. Here is what I have:3500 (apporx) in CC split accross six accounts6000 upside down on car due for repo six payments behind. I am working but only at min wage and barely have enough to rent a room and spread a can of tuna throughout the day. I tried debt settlement at 40% so that I could use approx 1K to settle all debt than concentrate on the car. No one has returned any of my calls on the settlement. In fact I have been received increasing demands and nastier messages on my ans machine. Recently got served for the car so they will likely take it next month at court apperance. And I will have to carry the balance of the repo, which may present a risk to my wages. Cards are turning over one by one to CA (attys) so there is a possibility of getting served again. What I am thinking is that all the court and legal fees are going to double the amount I owe, leave me without transportation and possibly garnish my wages. With bankruptcy I can avoid the court and legal fees. I would still loose the car (but buy some other bucket of bolts with the 1K I have stuffed under the mattress). And my wages would not be at risk, allowing me to continue my dismal survival until something better comes along. If BK cost too much, then it may be better to continue to try to settle vs the risk of being sued and garnished. Also, I will still loose the car and carry its balance against me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadynRed Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 You can file pro se, the filing fees are $209 and you can fill out a form to ask to pay that in 4 payments, but it MUST be paid in full by the time of your 341 meeting (I think.. could be that it must be paid by discharge).You really don't have much debt to file BK over, settlement may be your better bet. If you're ONLY making minimum wage, its quite possible that they can't garnish your wages either. Unless your take-home is 40x the federal minimum wage, they can't garnish and that is a FEDERAL restriction.If your debts are only just starting to go bad, its unlikely they'll settle. By the time they are 4-6 months past due, you have a better chance of them accepting a 50% or less settlement - so you may have to just wait it out on the credit cards.The car is different, they will take the car, sell it, and you'll be liable for what's left after the auction + a bunch of fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Thnaks LADY,your response makes things a little clearer. The car is my biggest worry. I would actually like to keep it. But a major repair put me behind just at the same time that I lost my job. I would like to avoid the fees of a repo at all cost. However there seems to be little option. Do the same fed laws of garnishment exist for car repo debt? I am thinking the 6000.00 that I am up side down will grow to like 8-10K with fees and the dirt cheap amount they will acution it off for. Credit cards are only 3-4 months behind right now and are just starting to switch over to CAs. I had a much better optimism of trying to settle them after reading many of the post on this site. None of the OCs have begun to respond yet. I suspected it was because they were passing debt off to CAs, however it may just be that the debt is too young for them to feel desperate enough to deal with me. The bankruptcy fee is a big relief. I was thinking that cost would start off somewhere around 3-4K similar to a divorce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 One other Will a voluntary surrender save me and fees over a repo. If the diff is just a couple hundred bucks to pay the smelly, grand theft auto ex-con who is coming to pickup the vehicle then I would rather drive until they take it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadynRed Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 No really, no. They'll still tack on all kinds of fees to store, sell it, etc. on top of the deficiency. There are rules they must follow with a repo in order to be able to actually collect the deficiency. They MUST sell it for a reasonable price, they MUST send you a 'right to cure' after its taken, they must send you notice of the date, time and place of the sale. Afterwards, they must send you a complete accounting of what you owe. If they don't follow all the rules, you may be able to fight an attempt to collect a deficiency.The biggest cost of bankrupcty is the lawyer's fees, and they vary widely by area. Here in my area, I can get a whole deal for less than $1000, in NYC and CA, people pay upwards of 1500-2000. The garnishment law applies no matter what kind of debt you have - except child support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeeptravel Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 One thing to consider is that you owe less than 10,000. You will not be able to file again for 7 years, and your credit will be ruined for 7-10. Is that a better option? Maybe it is? PEACE -jt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDon Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 Not necessarily "ruined" for 10 years. You'd be surprised how the offers of credit will start rolling in again once you start the positive rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeeptravel Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 Yeah, you're right, but when you consider no credit from most retailers and large chain appliance and furniture stores will be offered to you until that BK is gone . . . All I am saying is, count the cost. I'm living the cost of mine. My wife got denied at Levitz the other day and we can't afford couches. Even though our credit is getting better by the day, that will remain to haunt us for a while.I agree though, the small credit card approvals come in pretty quick: 300 here, 500 there. I'm just not at the CLI stage yet. Hope to be there one day.Anyway, hope I wsnt being a bummer, I just want you to have real picture before you go that route.blessings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDon Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 I agree with you there - and don't expect to get great cards from the "cream of the crop" issuers. BK has to be reserched thoroughly, and the decision to do it has to be thought out as well. There are a lot of variables to consider above and beyond just being discharged from your debts.BUT, this whole nasty aura surrounding BK is mostly bogus - the idea that you're a nasty evil person and will spend eternity in Hell for filing BK comes from where??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 BK has a huge downside too. Employers can view the public record and you get sub-sub-prime credit for awhile, if any. For a smaller sum, it might be worth working it out with the creditor directly- with the "off the record" threat of Ch7, the CCs might negotiate. And I think you said you had a car note- if you continue to pay (even up to constantly 90 day late), they will consider you a slow pay, which means that they won't repo. As far as fees, I paid $500 cash to an attorney plus $160 filing fee in PA all total for a BK7. He was a complete idiot, but the job finally got done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDon Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 With regard to employment and BK, "a governmental unit or private employer may not discriminate against a person solely because the person was a debtor, was insolvent before or during the case, or has not paid a debt that was discharged in the case". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Sorry, I quickly skimmed your post...it appears yuor situation is a bit farther along than I thought. At the minimum, see an attorney. Local law schools send out third year soon to be BK attorneys and do pro bono BK counseling- that may be an option. I don't know if they can actually take on a case since they are not bared. As far as my BK, I paid the filing fee upfront ($160) and then 3 months later I paid the attorney the $500 balance. I'd call around too and see if an attorney will work out a payment plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Thanks DocDon- I hope that is true- though I have my doubts that all new employers would completely ignore it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDon Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 That information is directly from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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