Hydro, Your wrong. Chapter 7 stays on your credit file for 10 years. Chapter 13 stays on there for 7. Bankruptcy doesn't erase anything, but the liability of the debt. The tradelines after a Chapter 7 discharge should accurately read included in bankruptcy and 0 balance. Do your homework next time bud.
The alternative concept is not bankruptcy but just do not pay - period. The creditors cannot do diddly only to harrass you but since you are poor do not use land line phones (talk about expensive shit) and do not open the doors of the apartment. I know the bankruptcy laws changed to screw the middle class a little more while cheating stealing BIG MONEY is still ok as long as you have decent lawyers pay the fees etc. How much is on your credit cards by the way? you don't say.....
Well in some states a Debtors examination is permitted every six months. So if You want to go through that...ok If you want to "shine on" the debtors examination and not show up to court with the list of documents you are requested to bring (believe me its worse than an IRS audit), a bench warrant can be issued to compel you to show...(also tell the truth cause' if the judgement is enough they will have hired an investigator to discover what you have so that when you lie under oath in court, your busted!) This is all the legal way to "harass" you! Now talk about living like a second class citizen! Deal with your problems do not evade payment of a just obligation.
Whatever you do, don't do that... too late. Reason: if you end up filing for Chapter 7 (within the next year), you'll have to disclose in writing (and possibly explain to the bankruptcy trustee or judge) every single "action", affecting your cash flow, assets or liabilities, generally during the 12 months leading up to the filing. Actions such as asset transfers to family, friends or anyone else... asset sales... credit card cash advances... credit card use... taking on any debt... paying off a particular creditor... and so on. I totally agree that, as long as your Ch. 7 would be a "no-asset" bankruptcy, you not only can, but absolutely should do it yourself. It sounds like yours would be a no-asset case, as are more than 90% of all personal Ch. 7 filings. All you need is the latest, 2006 edition of a book such as this and painstaking attention to detail, no more and no less. Read the book first, cover to cover. Then do your paperwork -- fill-in software kits are readily available. If you still feel a need to consult with a bankruptcy lawyer at that point, why not, if it makes you feel more comfortable with the process. Plenty of info online, too, as mentioned above. Good luck.
Good site for legal discussions and info.. Here is the thread for "TEXAS bankruptcy".. http://community.lawyers.com/messageboards/board.asp?channelId=25&mbId=108
Talk about nonsense. You do not pay and do not declare which means you are not lying under oath to anyone, also many single people leave the US and the damned rat race and go to all corners of the world and the US credit card companies can kiss they legal asses collectively, they might still harass you but if you move often enough it is not fiscally possible to track you for a measly 50k credit card debt.... Of course this is not an option for our esteemed friend but you never know. Money problems strain marriages as well. The bankruptcy laws are crooked as the US legal system is. If I was younger I leave the US and wait for the collapse of the "Fuckism" on some place like Greece, Portugal etc. The US is very fucked up now.
It's funny, I counseled a Debtor and he had the same argument. He talked of the rat race. When I queried as to what he felt he owed the credit card company he answered, "nothing". When I looked over his charges, I asked him if he went to that restuarant...or bought that basketball...or took that trip? He said yes but the credit card company charged him too much interest. When I asked him about the Judgement THAT HE DID NOT EVEN SHOW UP FOR TO DEFEND HIMSELF IN COURT, he said I aint' gonna pay them... Funny thing, he was no better than a common thief, blaming a system he voluntarily used. Some people deal with their short-comings by escaping out of the country or playing the blame game on the system to save their conscience from admitting to themsleves about poor life choices and/or bad money management. But the good ol' USA is still the best place to live in this screwed up world. By the way foreign debt from escaping debtors, is easier to collect then you think... Michael B.
Dude, I have done years of HW on the subject, I have seen REAL LIFE proof of what actually happens. I am about to watch this certain individual do it again, in fact, we have a gentleman's bet on it cause I still think he wont qualify for Ch.7. Chapter 7 can come off after 7 years, it has been done and will be done again. A judgement will stay on for 10 years and can even be renewed, sometimes a paid one will get renewed. Hypothetically, you can get any entry removed by pure luck. Have you ever seen a before and after report of a BK? I doubt it, otherwise you would not be regurgitating "expert" info. See the key word is "should" but thats not what happens. Collection agencies "should" be validating your debt with 3 key pieces of paperwork but they never do it on their own and only do it 5% of the time after official requests. Credit bureaus "should" keep up to date and accurate info, but they do not and often refuse to even correct wrongful entries. What "should" happen, rarely does. Compare a few before & after BK reports, then you actually talk as if you know what's going on. There is so much BS in this country's credit laws, it is simply mind boggling. The whole credit bureau game, the unsecured credit process, the BK process and the collections process, they are a tangled up buerocratic mess. Ask 3 BK attorneys, you will get 3 different answers. The reality is that BK is the best choice for people that actually need it, contrary to the social stigma that says it should always be the last resort.
Wrong, A "Paid Judgment" is only recorded at a credit bureu from the public records....a "Satisfaction of Judgment" is the only recorded court document that triggers this change from Judgment to "Paid Judgement"... Chapter 7 can come off after 7 years, it has been done and will be done again. A judgement will stay on for 10 years and can even be renewed, sometimes a paid one will get renewed. Hypothetically, you can get any entry removed by pure luck. Judgements and their length and renewal times are determined by each state and differ. By the way in the F I C O scoring system, a paid Judgement and its age, dramatically calculate differently from a BK or open Judgments and leins... mistakes...bets made with friends...etc are not a basis for an argument of fact...hydro...quit dumbing yourself down...and start using some of those big words, that only you can do, on me now, so that I can think of you being smart again... Michael B.
Look there is what should happen and then there is reality. Realize the people that you are dealing with when the information travels. When you get a judgement vacated, do you really think every credit bureau updates the info? When you get a judgement, that does not mean every credit bureau will show it. The collection agencies may or may not report it to all the credit bureaus. When it is vacated or paid, it does not mean anybody will update it. The burden is on YOU. Once it's paid & the entry is updated, the judgement entry is now "PAID" status and the 10 year period starts again from day one. Same goes for the negative "non paid" collection entries, they get refreshed. Actually, any change to the entries may refresh them, that's I said it can be renewed. It's done by quite a few scumbag collection agencies. BKs stay on the credit report for 7-10 years. Sometimes less, sometimes more. That's what happens in real life. Don't believe me, then believe the official story of how it "should be". Don't forget to remind yourself how we actually choose our president in this country while you are at it.