I currently have two credit cards that don't think I can pay off, in any reasonable amout of time. I have one moderately small bill from a previous cell phone contract as well. I am making a monthly payment to a 3rd party that distributes it to the two Visa card companies (Bank of America and Wells Fargo).
After nearly a year of payments, my debt is (slowly) still increasing. I have been pondering bankruptcy for two weeks now and can't afford to go have a conversation with a lawyer about it. I do not own any property(Land/Home), or a vehicle. I do have some nicer things that I saved for a while to get, Digital Camera and Computer, but that's pretty much it. I am living with my fiancee's grandparent's who have been kind enough to let me stay rent free. Also, I currently live in Ohio and may want to move back to nebraska within a couple of years. Thank you, in advance. I should add that I do have a job and I currently make between $500-$600 a month. About half of that is currently going toward my debt. I'm gonna bet these answers haven't come close to helping you out, right?
For starters, many attorneys will discuss your BK in their initial meeting for free. Call around and see who will talk to you.
I can't give you advice of whether you should file or not...you don't give many details about your income or finances. Do you have a job?
Note that if you do not own much property, a Chapter 7 is going to be the way to do. If you do not have a job, have very little income, and meet certain conditions, then many of the fees involved in filing will be waved.
For now, look for a lawyer to discuss your situation with. If that fails, see if there are any legal aid services in your area.
Failing that contact me. Increasing number people are filing for bankruptcy to get out of debt. But, what is bankruptcy? Do you know enough of it? How does it help you? If these questions also bother you, the following article describing 7 most important things about bankruptcy will help you get an answer.
1. Bankruptcy is process adopted by federal court process catering to individuals and businesses repay their debts or clear their debts under the protection of bankruptcy court. Also known as "reorganizations " or "liquidations", bankruptcy is often the last recourse to get out of any debt.
2. When the property of the debtor is sold to recover and pay off the debt it is called Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Contrary to popular belief, all the property owned by a debtor is not sold, some part of it is left with him to allow him to start afresh. Read more about it at: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/artic... The Chapter 7 bankruptcy is applicable if you have no regular sources of income. It works by reducing or clearing off all your debts. You can then make a fresh start without having to worry about having to pay your debts.
Once you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court assigns a trustee who works as an intermediary between you and the debtors. He oversees everything and checks out if the bankruptcy plan is going as planned.
But you also have to hand over your possessions and properties to the trustee. They are sold off and the money is used in clearing your debts. But what you can do is to keep a part of your home, cars or some of your property. But most of your debts are cleared off. Under the new bankruptcy laws it is a whole lot harder to qualify for chapter 7 now. First you must go through 6-months of credit counseling and then take whats called a means test to determine weather you must file chapter 13 or chapter 7.
If you make above the mean average income for your State, you will be forced into a chapter 13 repayment plan.
If you do qualify for chapter 7, you can keep most all of your things that you listed. You must assign a value to each item but the really cool thing is you get to use whats called garage sale pricing. This allows your computer or digital camera to now be worth only $100.00 each.
The only way to really know is to consult with a bankruptcy lawyer. Before you file for a bk, read an article about credit on www.adviceontime.com If you want to increase your chances of getting approved for a credit card after a bankruptcy process you'll need to improve your credit score and history. In order to do that, you'll have to avoid late payments and missed payments. This is due to the fact that you need to show an impeccable recent credit history in order to compensate for the past bankruptcy on your records. Sadly, a clean credit history implies six months of timely payments with no delinquencies at all.
If you can't meet the above requirement, you can always resort to a secured credit card. You'll need to raise some money for a deposit prior to using this card and that deposit will be your credit limit. Yet, with some use of this card, you'll build up your credit score again and will be able to obtain a better credit card product in a matter of months. Read more about it at: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/artic... I would suggest that you contact Consumer Credit Counseling. Typically when you are working with a debt/credit counseling service, interest no longer is added to that account, or if it is, it is a reduced amount. The fact that you have not seen a reduction on this debt should be a cause of concern. The 3rd party that you are using could be keeping a big portion of what you are paying and have not negotiated lower and/or no interest on your behalf. | 