My brother, 47, is going to see a lawyer about bankruptcy, chapter 13. Four years ago he went chapter 7. He has money problems. He is on his own. He lives in a different state, Minn, and has an 8 year old son that he has over every other week. He pays child support of 0 weekly. He tries to be a good dad to his troubled son. He works in printing at a plant in St. Paul with a rotating shift, and works hard earning /hr. He lives alone and pays 0 for rent. He lost his new car to the repo man, isn’t very good with his money and accrued ,000 in debts. He is being sued by a creditor whom he owes ,000. They offered to settle for ,000 with two payments of 0. He is paying off ,000 in back taxes at /month. He is thinking of filing for chapter 13 to pay off these debts and get back on his feet. He wants to get a part time job, but the odd rotating shift makes it hard for him to do so. He doesn’t have any support system, so what should he do?

I’ll make this quick. Do to some circumstances my wife and I fell behind on our mortgage. Our lender is countrywide. We have a 100% financed sub-prime loan with an 80/20 ARM and prepayment penalty. (A piece of trash loan I know, we know better now) Also there is another Lender…Franklin Credit which makes up the 20…We filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and have been making payments for two years now…due to the economy and a few unfortunate illnesses we were not able to stay current on our chapter 13 payments…so there was a motion filed by our trustee to close the bankruptcy unless we could become current by a certain time…..

When we contacted our lawyer he told us that we had three options…
1.bring the payments current(9,000.00) of course we don’t have that…
2.Let the bankruptcy go and hang on until foreclosure on our house starts then try to start another chapter 13….
3.Modify our current bankruptcy and pay them a fee to file this motion…go get chastised by a judge…and make our payments higher.
Oh I guess there were four options…4.convert to chapter 7….

At the time the bankruptcy was initiated there were no problems in making the payments….but then the bottom fell out…I am in transportation….my overtime was cut to 0….my wife has had a significant reduction in hours and I had a surgery that kept me out of work for two months…all of this has led to the fall behind…..

Ok so I have two questions relating to this situation…..

1. Can/Should I try to refinance the loans during the bankruptcy…The mortgage payments are made through the trustee….but we still get statements from countrywide….our current statement is 3000.00 a month UNBELIEVABLE…..If we can’t refinance there is no way we can afford this ridiculous arm after the bankruptcy…

2.Will president Obamas new plan help us during bankruptcy…we don’t know what to do…stay here pumping money into bk13 that was primarily done to save our home that we may not be able to keep after the bk….or convert to chapter 7…let it all go…uproot our family and start over…or possibly get some help from Obamas new plan.

We need guidance…we are good people with good jobs…good family…and good morals…we were admittantly irresponsible in money management…we own our part and we have drastically changed our lifestyle….but we were also taken advantage of as first time homebuyers so we want them to own thier part as well….

Please anyone who can give advice on my situtaion would be greatly appreciated…please don’t soilicit us…we are in trouble…our family is in trouble as many others…we need good soild,honest advice to get back on track…..Thank You.

I am looking into filing chapter 7 and need an inexpensive lawyer. Please let me know if you of one here in NC.

Is it possible to ask a credit card company to be nicer on the credit score by removing some of their remarks?

A few years ago I was being sued and had to pay for a lawyer out of pocket. Needless to say, nothing went horribly late but because I was called multiple times a day asked why I wasn’t paying on time, they assumed I was filling for Bankruptcy and closed the cards as write offs; although I specifically told them I was getting sued and not filling for Bankruptcy.

I read online that generally companies do write-offs when they’re 6 months late—which was never the case. I paid them all off with their outrageous fees and all, but having a ‘write-off’ is horrible.

Could I write to the company to get that remark removed?

My husband and I filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy 6 weeks ago due to a wage garnishment and other reasons. Our lawyer told us because of the timing and amount garnished we would get all of the garnished money back. The automatic stay has been in place for 4-5 weeks. My question is when or how long does it take before you receive that money back?

Her and her husband are currently under chapter 13 they have cashed there refund check…they needed it to fix there car…Will they both go to jail for cashing it? They have a 6 year old and a 1 year old. What or if anything will happen to them… She went to her trustees web site and on there main page it saids (All tax refunds during your entire case must be turned over to the Trustee uncashed. Failure to turn in your refund will result in your case being dismissed and will also prohibit any filing of future cases.) she also has a lawyer but she doesnt like her… and doesnt want to deal with her any more can she go with another lawyer? They Live in Louisiana
When they filed in Sept. 2007 there first tax refund check was sent directly to there trustee.. about 2 months ago they recieved a letter saying (We have you Certification of Compliance and Request for Discharge in our office to be signed as soon as possible.) So they assumed that there case was being Discharged) I just hope that they dont go to Jail b/c they have 2 kids
Hi to Jen
They received this letter on April 17 but they called her a week or so before they sent the letter. They received the tax refund almost the end of May. They went and signed the letter on June 1 so they thought that the check was theres. B/C they keep all they others. Like when Gustav came there car was crushed by a tree. they got money back from there insurance they lawyer took that check too. They wasnt going to give it to them b/c they needed a new car. So they will go and get a new lawyer when they get back from there Disney Trip… Thanks for every one advice!!!

My parents filed for chapter 13, and they’re still paying the entire amount on their home, minus interest. The lawyer said they would not lose their home in this case, but a friend of ours was on a foreclosure website and found their home on there with the bankruptcy lawyers information as a contact.

Can lawyers put your house on those sites 1, without your permission or knowledge, and 2, is that legal? what can be done?

My fathers lawyer asked that he provide his Federal 1040 returns dating back to 2006 – where can we get them from? Should my dad have copies – meaning, is this something that people keep as a receipt or is it sent back to the state? If the latter (or if my dad, for whatever reason, can’t find them), can we get them from online or any brick and mortar location?

My fathers lawyer asked that he provide his Federal 1040 returns dating back to 2006 – where can we get them from? Should my dad have copies – meaning, is this something that people keep as a receipt or is it sent back to the state? If the latter (or if my dad, for whatever reason, can’t find them), can we get them from online or any brick and mortar location?

My mom and my step dad have declared bankruptcy one or two times in the last 10 years. My older brother now lives with them because his health hasn’t been so great for some time. Needless to say their credit isn’t so good after filing for bankruptcys. Now I hear the bank has gone to foreclose their home and they say to us, their adult children that they have their lawyer working on it but don’t tell us much else. My parents havent made such great choices about their money in the past so we are pretty skeptical. Not only that a majior reason why they are in this finacial hell is because my step dad fell for an internet e-mail scam. I and my brother am trying to help them as much as we can with our own practical smarts but they haven’t told us any details so far. From what we gather my parents could be housless come Febuary. What can be done to help them legally and, or what would you do about all this?
I don’t know what form of bankruptcy they have filed this time.. but they say they will be required to pay all of their bankruptcy debts off and keep up with all of their incoming future bills they will have too.
Step dad works two jobs. My mom is on disability. My older brother also works but he is the one who has been sick (and even though its not HIV or AIDS he may also be ill for years to come too) is now working at a Taco Del Mar.

Were considering chapter 13 and I have been doing some research online. I read that we will have to have a meeting with creditors? All of ours is credit card debt. Do representatives from CC’s really show up? Seems like with the number of bankruptcies these days it would be hard for CCs to have all these meetings?? Please, has anyone gone through one of these meetings? What should I expect. We have not met with a lawyer yet. We are still in the planning stages. We’d like to file chapter 7 but don’t think we will qualify.

I am in a situation and am tired of the harrasments, the collection calls, collection letters I have no money I bearly make enough to support me and my son. I am a single parent and think that I want to file for bankruptcy. Has anyone done this and if so can I get some advise. What was your outcome is this something your glad you did or something you regret? I think when I go speak with my lawyer about this situation I think this is what he will offer but I have a feeling that with my luck I may regret it. What are the pro’s and con’s about bankruptcy.

My dad is in chapter 13 and his friend wants to give him a Timeshare which is already paid for in full. My dad would be responsible only for the maintenance fees (around 0 a year). His friend wants to get rid of the Timeshare because he will move to Europe and doesn’t want to keep it anymore.
Can my dad get it without the authorization of the Trustee since he wont get a loan to pay for it since its already paid by his friend?
Can the debtors find out that my dad owns a Timeshare if my dad get it from his friend?
What could the trustee say if he finds out that my dad owns a Timeshare? As fas as I know my dad needs authorization from the trustee if he wants to buy anything more than 0.00 but since the timeshare will be a gift from his friend he is not sure what to do. He’ll ask his lawyer next week but he asked me to give it a try here and see if we get good answers

We are in the process of filing chapter 13. We had our first meeting with the lawyer…the free meeting…now this tuesday we will meet with her paralegal to go over all of our bills and income and get started. We are set to get a stimulus check in the mail at the end of this month…what will happen with this check? I’m fairly sure that our bankruptcy won’t be filed before then, but I’m not sure how quickly the process happens. We’d really like to keep that money!
Note: We have not filed yet! We have not even officially put an atty on retainer. How long does the process take? Our atty told us we could draw it out to save some $$ for a few months while we have no CC payments, so I’m thinking the stimulus check will be ours to keep. Any other opinions? Our meeting is on the 6th where we put her on retainer. Our check should be mailed out by the 30th.

in 2005 my parents bought a house in Palmdale, CA.; Assuming that since the real estate company we went to was owned by a cousin of ours and since my sister was working with the company at the time, I have little knowledge of the transaction that was made to buy the house. From what I have understood, however, was that the mortgage that my parents bought into was a fraud, as many were at the time because they were pressured to finance the house without knowing the fine print of the contract; this resulted in them paying high prices for a house that depreciated in value over time. In any case, the damage was done and they resolved to put the first house in short sale while they bought another house for a low price, which is a house that we live in now.

About 3 months later, the first house they owned never sold and they found out at the time that there were squatters in the house. I don’t know how these scammers did it, but someone found a way to list the first house in a different website, forged the documents to the first house (I can’t say how they did it, since we shred any papers that have our personal information), and they might have found a key that they duplicated and "rented" this house, online, to a family that is on welfare.

My sister confronted these squatters, the police came to our place of residence and took copies of the fraudulent paperwork. The squatters had the nerve to ask my parents for electricity and water, but my parents never complied with their requests. When it came time for my parents to file the report at the police station, all of a sudden the police say we have to get a lawyer and to pay money to file the paperwork so that we can take these squatters to court (who still seemed to live in the first house we bought). These squatters, as a result, refused to let anyone see the house and the short sale never happened.

Because we dont have enough money ourselves due to high medical bills, the resigned on the pursuit to evict these people from our first house, but I can’t accept this (My parents are practically receiving calls everyday from a collection agency, but they decided to let the bank take the house and go to foreclosure, which will leave them in bankruptcy and ruin their credit).

I would have assumed that the police would have evicted these people, given they have the evidence right in front of them, but is there any low cost community resources that we can refer to get this nightmare taken care of or do my parents have a reason in just letting go letting the bank take the house?

My mom and my step dad have declared bankruptcy one or two times in the last 10 years. My older brother now lives with them because his health hasn’t been so great for some time. Needless to say their credit isn’t so good after filing for bankruptcys. Now I hear the bank has gone to foreclose their home and they say to us, their adult children that they have their lawyer working on it but don’t tell us much else. My parents havent made such great choices about their money in the past so we are pretty skeptical. Not only that a majior reason why they are in this finacial hell is because my step dad fell for an internet e-mail scam. I and my brother am trying to help them as much as we can with our own practical smarts but they haven’t told us any details so far. From what we gather my parents could be housless come Febuary. What can be done to help them legally and, or what would you do about all this?
I don’t know what form of bankruptcy they have filed this time.. but they say they will be required to pay all of their bankruptcy debts off and keep up with all of their incoming future bills they will have too.
Step dad works two jobs one as a school janitor and the other as a large route news paper carrier. My mom is on disability. My older brother also works but he is the one who has been sick (and even though its not HIV or AIDS he may also be ill for years to come too) is now working at a Taco Del Mar.

I want to run my own consulting business as far as providing information to clients regarding wills/trust, bankruptcy, divorce/child custody modifications etc. I want to be able to do more than a paralegal (as far as being able to give more advice and be a little more credible as far as the law field goes,) but less than a lawyer(kind of like what a physician assistant is to a Doctor), if possible I would like to avoid law school. Would a Masters degree in Paralegal studies be a good option for me. How about a masters in Pre-law? If so what are some good online schools to complete my graduate studies? Please give me some good advice, I have been trying to figure this out for sometime now and am still really confused.

Thank you for your time!

I filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy that should have been completed in July or August at the very latest. My lawyer claimed to have not received my certificate of completion for the post bankruptcy course and let it go. My case was discharged before he told me anything was wrong. I’d called a few weeks before and was told everything was fine ad I’d receive confirmation soon. I was able to prove that he received the certificate and he paid the fee to reinstate my case. I planned when to file so that a year later I could co-sign on a home loan with my husband when he got back from Iraq. Now it’s just been filed and my 1 year mark will be 5 months later so my husband will come home from Iraq and we won’t be able to buy a house. This was hard enough and now he’s made it even worse. We’d have to come up with 15% down at least to get a loan. Can I sue my lawyer for his incompetence and this inconvenience. I’m not looking for free $, I’m just really frustrated and heart broken! Thanks 4 answering!
You don’t know my whole situation and you don’t have to be a jerk. I wasn’t scamming anyone, I stopped working when my daughter died and we couldn’t affort one income at the time. It’s better to pay on a house than to waste money renting so we weren’t planning a scam we were planning to recover from this nightmare!
I can prove he got the certificate because the company I took the course through has the email and fax conformation. I have already spoken to several lenders and they all say 1 year.

We are going to file for Chapter 7 this December. I was curious how many months they usually want to see. Most places I read it is 3 months. I am hoping it is 3 months because we were not expecting to file until now and our statements might look bad any further that 6 months back.
The reason we have to wait till December is that my husband had a previous bankruptcy before I met him. The lawyer told us to wait. We are not paying our credit cards because we can’t afford it.

So I stepped on my pride and did what I didn’t want to do ..I filed for bankruptcy, Chapter 7, in January 2009. It was cleared and everything was discharged in May 2009. I am now interested in joining the United States Coast Guard Active Duty in 2011 sometime. I am curious if this is going to impact my enlistment. I have read numerous online entries, they all clash though. I saw a video on YouTube by a lawyer that states Active Duty military can file for bankruptcy and it won’t jeopardize their job. If that is so, how is it any different with someone who has a cleared bankruptcy that wants to enlist?
I understand this will interfere with security clearances. I am willing to deal with that to serve in the Coast Guard. Any recruiters, any advice? Please no trolls that are here to advertise or scorn me for having a bankruptcy.