Has Anyone Here Been Through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

nanookadenord said:

This is off topic per my request. Please bring it back on topic. The experiences of those that had bankruptcy and what I can expect during it. I am doing the bankruptcy, plain and simple.

Please stop with the God will help you.

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I am confused, you are on a Christian forum asking asking for experience of bankruptcy but don't want God brought into the matter. If you did not want to hear about God why not use Google, Facebook, etc to find out about it?

RaymondG said:

The same God said not to make vows and then break them. I do not believe the debt the Jews were in is the same as the agreements we sign to borrow money with the promise to pay it all back...

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You are free to believe whatever you want. It says all debt---debt by definition means you have made an agreement to pay back somebody for something. And these companies have been paid back. When you add in all the interest that they keep increasing ---they have been paid back at least twice the original debt and in most cases---triple! You do not know all the details of what others are going through or what brought about the problem. In most cases---it's due to impossible medical bills---even with insurance.
And as the OP says---this is about the bankruptcy process--not about what God will or will not do according to you. If that is what you want, then start a thread of your own.

nanookadenord said:

I talked with a credit counselor yesterday and they couldn't recommend a debt management plan because I don't make enough to cover even my basic expenses let alone the debt that I have accrued trying to cover my basic expenses. I would need to come up with an extra $600 roughly in order to come in under a debt management plan. I am already working full time with one of the days being a 24 hour shift. I get my kids on the weekends, so that leaves me with two days for another job, which wouldn't get me close to the $600 needed.

I only bring home $408 a check after health insurance at $584 a month which is court ordered for me to have for my kids and $200 for child support. I get paid every two weeks. So, $816 a month isn't cutting it. The counselor recommended bankruptcy as I am in the hole each month by $600.

Has anyone here been through it? What can I expect during the process besides my credit tanking?

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Do not ignore the creditors!!!! If you do they can sue you and put a lien on your house. Give them the name of your bankruptcy lawyer. It has taken me over a year just to pay the lawyer!! I haven't even been able to actually file till I pay the $335 filing fee. I am disabled and can't work, was on disability before 65. I now have only my social security to live on since my husband died. Yes, your credit will tank, but you will be able to hang on to your home. I have just barely hung on to it. I've had to cut all non-essentials. No cable, no smart phone, no car, (I'm in a wheel chair anyway, but I can drive if I had one, sold it)I do not go to beauty shops nor color my hair, and no longer use any makeup! What you see is what you get! I have to have a computer for that is how I buy my groceries and other needed stuff---nothing that is not needed!
That's just to survive minus the creditors. I had no choice but to file. I do not care about my credit score---I have no intention of doing anything where that would be an issue.

nanookadenord said:

I talked with a credit counselor yesterday and they couldn't recommend a debt management plan because I don't make enough to cover even my basic expenses let alone the debt that I have accrued trying to cover my basic expenses. I would need to come up with an extra $600 roughly in order to come in under a debt management plan. I am already working full time with one of the days being a 24 hour shift. I get my kids on the weekends, so that leaves me with two days for another job, which wouldn't get me close to the $600 needed.

I only bring home $408 a check after health insurance at $584 a month which is court ordered for me to have for my kids and $200 for child support. I get paid every two weeks. So, $816 a month isn't cutting it. The counselor recommended bankruptcy as I am in the hole each month by $600.

Has anyone here been through it? What can I expect during the process besides my credit tanking?

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In the 1980's I got a bank to restructure my student loan in order for me to make smaller monthly payments. I paid it off in time. There are community food banks in some areas giving temporary assistance by handing out bread or canned foods to the poor. There is WIC. Some qualified for Section 8 HUD rental assistance. You might look into Habitat for Humanity programs. Indeed.com (advanced search) might help you search for a better job. When I was young and strong I used to work a full time job five days a week and a night job at a restaurant for another 20 hours a week.

nanookadenord said:

First, stop with the God will deliver you stuff. I don't believe that, so end it!

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I did not say, nor do i believe that God will deliver you in your current state. But he has delivered me and can do it for others. I see nothing wrong with your approach, as stated, nor do I wish for you to change anything.

nanookadenord said:

Second, my girlfriend is willing to do this for us. There is a program available where there is no PMI even with just 3% down. In way this will keep us from overspending on our home and it will be built in protection in case one of us gets laid off being able to afford the home on one salary.

As you can see, we have talked about this extensively. This isn't something I have rushed into.

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It is good the your wife is willing to do this for you both....I guess my comments were concerning what you were willing to do for her.

Hope all hope and luck is on your side as you proceed.

mmksparbud said:

You are free to believe whatever you want. It says all debt---debt by definition means you have made an agreement to pay back somebody for something. And these companies have been paid back. When you add in all the interest that they keep increasing ---they have been paid back at least twice the original debt and in most cases---triple! You do not know all the details of what others are going through or what brought about the problem. In most cases---it's due to impossible medical bills---even with insurance.
And as the OP says---this is about the bankruptcy process--not about what God will or will not do according to you. If that is what you want, then start a thread of your own.

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The OP ask that you leave God out of your answers.......So it is best not to try and excuse the non-payment of debt, with scriptures. Let's just answer with bankruptcy experience.

The people I know who did it were older, and cared not for the effects on future financing and buying potential. For them, I see no natural downfalls.....as they do not intend to gain any more possessions/jobs/businesses anyway. For the young, I would not advise it and have heard of the trouble it causes.

nanookadenord said:

Thank you!

I read my girlfriend your response on what I was willing to do for her and she said her doing what I outlined is the least she can do for the things I have done for her and will do for her in the future.

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Sounds like a keeper.....

I can't recall if my parents filed chapter 7 or not. I believe they did though. The medical bills were around 30k. It is a good last resort. However it does have some issues. For starters they may look at anything you own as "payment". Like if you own a home or car, they may take it. Granted if the car is not very good they will let you keep it.

The worst thing is your credit score will be damaged for 7-10 years. Meaning you won't have an easy time getting anything since they go by the score. That said you just got to fight through it and you will come out ahead with your fresh start. We knew someone who kept filing it every few years. At least until the laws changed on how it works. But they were con artists so not surprising they do it all the time.

There are other methods to try if you don't want to do bankruptcy. Like if your bills are at a collection agency, ask for a way to remove all of it at once. They may ask for a much smaller amount to make the bills go all away. Same with the IRS, granted the IRS isn't always so...friendly.

Heres a link that may help you understand more:
What can happen when you don’t pay bills?

nanookadenord said:

I talked with a credit counselor yesterday and they couldn't recommend a debt management plan because I don't make enough to cover even my basic expenses let alone the debt that I have accrued trying to cover my basic expenses. I would need to come up with an extra $600 roughly in order to come in under a debt management plan. I am already working full time with one of the days being a 24 hour shift. I get my kids on the weekends, so that leaves me with two days for another job, which wouldn't get me close to the $600 needed.

I only bring home $408 a check after health insurance at $584 a month which is court ordered for me to have for my kids and $200 for child support. I get paid every two weeks. So, $816 a month isn't cutting it. The counselor recommended bankruptcy as I am in the hole each month by $600.

Has anyone here been through it? What can I expect during the process besides my credit tanking?

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hard to say without looking at your finances (which i can help with btw ). but if you need a referral to a better option i have a specialist on speed dial in terms of debt, just message me.

My son filed bankruptcy one time. His credit was wrecked again after he built back his personal credit. His wife had no credit so his credit background was used for them to buy a home. She did not make house payments as she promised and the money went into some black hole. As an RN she made at least twice as much as he did as a corrections officer and a security agent for the TSA. They eventually divorced. Some of you here would probably blame him for what his wife did. I've watched judges side with the wife/female. My son's attorney said that judges mainly side with the wife/woman 90% of the time. Don't try to advise this man if all you can do is see what you perceived as his faults. Righteousness comes to all believers from Christ (imputed). Christ won't lose his righteousness if this man files for bankruptcy.

If you file bankruptcy you'll likely be better off with a clean slate, but it will have footnotes. You won't be able to escape the fact that you were bankrupt, and if you use a credit card you can expect a low limit and higher interest rate until you've had time to build back your credit. Car loans come with high interest. Buy here-pay here is a ripoff. I hope you've got all of your major purchases out of the way.

I'm not a fan of bankruptcy but sometimes the reasons someone has to file bankruptcy lie with another person. I'm not going to treat someone like they're not a Christian because they needed to file bankruptcy. Our wonderful government are not helping average people in this country although our "Christian" leaders tell us they are. Interest deductions, for one thing, are pretty much a thing of the past. Money has little worth. Look at your savings account interest.

I don't approve of vindictive demands made on a husband or a wife by the other spouse (ex-spouse). The children are most important but from what I'm reading here it seems like this man was presented with demands that everyone else knew he could not meet, and then they want to wreck him financially and call him a bum. That's not right. Where I live there's a local TV program that covers cases of child support payment neglect. I think most everyone here would think what I do about this program. Over and over I see men brought in handcuffs before a judge and the judge berates them for not paying child support or being short on the amount. How can a man who is put in jail be able to make the money that's demanded of him? Some of these men have to sleep at the jail and they're allowed to work off-site during the day, but these are jobs with minimum wage pay most of the time. What's the big deal? The man has a place to sleep and bologna sandwiches to eat.

nanookadenord said:

I talked with a credit counselor yesterday and they couldn't recommend a debt management plan because I don't make enough to cover even my basic expenses let alone the debt that I have accrued trying to cover my basic expenses. I would need to come up with an extra $600 roughly in order to come in under a debt management plan. I am already working full time with one of the days being a 24 hour shift. I get my kids on the weekends, so that leaves me with two days for another job, which wouldn't get me close to the $600 needed.

I only bring home $408 a check after health insurance at $584 a month which is court ordered for me to have for my kids and $200 for child support. I get paid every two weeks. So, $816 a month isn't cutting it. The counselor recommended bankruptcy as I am in the hole each month by $600.

Has anyone here been through it? What can I expect during the process besides my credit tanking?

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What to expect:

1. Find a bankruptcy lawyer. Bankruptcy is pretty cut and dried, so, just start calling around and find a cheap one.

2. Pay his fee, and bring all of your creditors' addresses, and your W2 and bank statements from last 6 months. Also, Last two months paystubs. (If he wants more, he'll let you know.)

3. If creditors call, tell them that you are filing for bankruptcy, and give them your lawyer's name. They are required by law to stop calling you at this point.

4. Your lawyer will get with you on the court date. When you get one, on that date you and your lawyer will go to the courtroom, the Judge or Trustee will ask you some simple questions, such as a. How did you get into this situation and b. How much do you make a month/year/somethinglike that c. Are you expecting a tax refund this year (which will need to be surrendered when you get it,, to satisfy your creditors) c. Do you want to re-affirm any debts (Answer: NO!) d. Do you have any piles of cash. The Trustee gets probably 1000 or more cases like this a year, so, they don't want anything long or drawn out, just the simple facts. The Judge will then ask your lawyer if there's any other information. You will then be dismissed, and your lawyer will say "Sayonara, Pal!" and you will be notified by mail of your bankruptcy discharge.

It's a simple process. And, it's great! You can now answer the phone without fear!
I've done it twice over the last 40 years.

In re: Future credit, I can't give much advice, but, I do know that FHA, or whatever federal agency it is that gives house loans, will give loans 2 years after a bankruptcy.

Best wishes.

Andrew77 said:

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, but I've heard this line before "bankruptcy will be a clean slate for me".

I've heard that from people. Let me just explain to you, that it is most certainly not a clean slate.

If you get a new job, and you have to move to a new location, or someone dies, or something happens in the family that forces you to move....

You will have an exceptionally hard time finding a new place to live. That bankruptcy will be on your record for 7 full years. During that time, they will see "this person dodges their responsibilities".

People that know nothing about you, will judge your character based on that bankruptcy.

Employers who could offer you a fantastic job, will see that you have a bankruptcy, and deny you employment. Your bankruptcy will haunt you for almost a decade, and pop up in strange ways. 6 full years from now, when you have good money, good job, and everything else is good.... you will do something simple, like try to buy a phone, and have them decline you because you have a bankruptcy on your record.

Again, like I said before, I am not trying to talk you out of it. If you have to, then you have to. But understand that it will not be this euphoric clean slate. It won't. Every person that I have met that went through bankruptcy, regrets it.

And additional warning.

Bankruptcy does not change your bills, or how you live, or what income you have. I personally, learned this the hard way. If you do not change something in the equation of your life that created the debt, then you will end up right back in debt.

And listen, this time the lenders will be even more ruthless to you, than they were before. Why? Because they know for certain that you can't file bankruptcy for at least 7 years. So they will do everything they can to get you back in debt, and working to pay them.

This is why people who file bankruptcy often file again. Almost 30% of all bankruptcies, are repeat filers. They filed bankruptcy, went back into debt, and filed bankruptcy again.

You need to think about that. Clean slate doesn't matter if you keep living how you have, that ended up in debt, because you'll end up right back where you are now.

Again, I'm saying this as someone that did it. Don't do that. It sucks to look back a year or more, and realize you are no better off than you were before.

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LOL, I disagree with a LOT that you wrote.

1. Bankruptcy DOES change your bills. That's what it's all about!

2. It doesn't mean a lot to employers. Many employers don't give a hang about bankruptcy. The only employer that did a credit check on me was in 2013. I had gone bankrupt in 2012, and I told them. They said it didn't really matter, because the economy was so lousy that a LOT of good people were forced into it. Bankruptcy is ONE mark, and they use several. 10 adverse credit references is bad. 1 bankruptcy is...meh.

3. Your advice in re: a phone is totally antiquated!!! For at least the last 10 years, longer perhaps, people have been able to get phones without credit! I can't believe that you even wrote this.

4. The credit WILL take a hit, but, FHA will give a home loan after 2 years, if there are no adverse marks in the meantime.

5. Apartments are 50/50 on the bankruptcy thing. They don't really care, they run a credit check to see if you have a habit of stiffing people, bankruptcy. Cars are a different matter, but, a LOT of people pay cash for vehicles. Not new, but, workable.

6. Of the people I knew that went bankrupt, we ALL are glad we did. Further, Robert Ringer (Google him) said that he tried to NOT go bankrupt for a long time, and his creditors were harassing him no end, and, often, were even diabolical in their behavior towards him, as they thought he was trying to trick them. To rub salt into the wound, friends of his, who went bankrupt owing millions, were given a pass-their creditors simply shrugged it off as a tough break for them.

goldenboy said:

LOL, I disagree with a LOT that you wrote.

1. Bankruptcy DOES change your bills. That's what it's all about!

2. It doesn't mean a lot to employers. Many employers don't give a hang about bankruptcy. The only employer that did a credit check on me was in 2013. I had gone bankrupt in 2012, and I told them. They said it didn't really matter, because the economy was so lousy that a LOT of good people were forced into it. Bankruptcy is ONE mark, and they use several. 10 adverse credit references is bad. 1 bankruptcy is...meh.

3. Your advice in re: a phone is totally antiquated!!! For at least the last 10 years, longer perhaps, people have been able to get phones without credit! I can't believe that you even wrote this.

4. The credit WILL take a hit, but, FHA will give a home loan after 2 years, if there are no adverse marks in the meantime.

5. Apartments are 50/50 on the bankruptcy thing. They don't really care, they run a credit check to see if you have a habit of stiffing people, bankruptcy. Cars are a different matter, but, a LOT of people pay cash for vehicles. Not new, but, workable.

6. Of the people I knew that went bankrupt, we ALL are glad we did. Further, Robert Ringer (Google him) said that he tried to NOT go bankrupt for a long time, and his creditors were harassing him no end, and, often, were even diabolical in their behavior towards him, as they thought he was trying to trick them. To rub salt into the wound, friends of his, who went bankrupt owing millions, were given a pass-their creditors simply shrugged it off as a tough break for them.

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Everything I wrote, is stuff that has personally happened to me. I have had a phone company refuse based exclusively on my credit history. I've had employers decline to hire because of my credit. I've had people tell me they couldn't get an apartment because of their credit. That's why they were rooming with me. I know 3 people that file bankruptcy, and said they would have never done it.

By bills, I mean your car payment is $500 before, it will be $500 after, unless you give up the car. If you are going to give up the car, do that first, and then perhaps you can avoid bankruptcy. If your electric bill is $100 before, it will be $100 after. If you are blowing $400 a month eating out, bankruptcy will not change that. If you are borrowing money every month, because you are spending more money than you make in a month, and this is why you are in debt, bankruptcy does not change that. If you spend more than you make after filing bankruptcy, you'll end up in debt again.

FHA sucks. My opinion. Worst mortgages ever.

I'm not here to argue with you. My advice, is my advice, and I stand by it. You disagree, that's fine. But every single thing I wrote, is true and accurate. It happened to me.

Nice chatting with you.