Chapter 7

What is the name of your state? Virginia

I have just moved to Virginia from North Carolina and had to take out a cash advance to move my mobile home. The bills are piling up and have been for some time. I have in excess of $20,000 in unsecured credit card debt, I have been paying on my mobile home for about a year, and I have a 2000 Grand Am that I have been paying on for about 1.5 years. I only make about $340 a week. I had trouble finding a permanent job in North Carolina, and had been working for staffing agencies since I moved there. I lost a temp position right around the time my boyfriend was layed off. We saw no other choice than to move to Virginia where the economy is better, but I am still struggling to even pay minimum payments.

I see no way that I will be able to pay off these bills. I always want to pay on my credit cards each month, but that often involves using the credit cards for living expenses because I have used my income to make minimum payments. I really see no other way out than to file for Chapter 7. I do not have much equity in my home or car, so I hope that I could keep them and continue paying.

When I file, will I have to report my boyfriend's income if he has found employment by then? I want to file alone and all of the debts are in my name, besides the house that I want to continue paying on. Also, he has a 93 Dakota that is titled in both of our names.

Any advice on my situation?

You won't be able to file a petition for bankruptcy protection for awhile because you won't meet your new state's residency requirements.

So, better sit tight and do your best to make money and dodge creditors in the meantime....

Your boyfriend's income or lack thereof will be irrelevant to your petition.

If you are sharing the expenses of your housing, put down half the costs and then just your income on the budget portion of the petition.

Best of luck to you. Sounds like a tough situation.

Thank you for your advice. Is the general rule that you must live in a state for the BETTER PART of the last 180 days?

hello problemsinva, i am no attorney therefore i do not know how long one must live in a state to be able to file bankruptcy. however, once you are ready, speak with your attorney about a chapter 7 which would eliminate the unsecured debt. as far as your home is concerned, you can in a chapter 7 surrender *give up*, retain *keeping and continue to pay the mortgage without reaffirmation* and reaffirm *keep the property by signing a reaffirmation and continue to pay for your mortgage*. in case of a reaffirmation, see if your attorney can work out a deal with the mortgage company to lower the terms for you. this is what's normally happening. the attorney says to the mortgage company, look the ppty value is let's say $25k, the balance on the loan is $50K, in case of foreclosure you'd lose a lot of money *saying this to the mortgage company*, if the client continues to pay the mortgage with a lesser monthly payment and interest rate you *the mortgage company* will still be getting the balance of the loan which you would not get should the customer decide to let the house go. the mortgage company normally determines the equity in the home and then they decide to go for lower terms or not. if the mortgage company is at a gain in case of foreclosure they will most likely not agree to lower terms but sell the house, if they are at a substantial loss they will. take care and i hope i didn't confuse too much.

Thanks for the input SevenTrumpets. I did not know that you could negotiate to lower the interest, etc. That would be nice, but I would agree to continue to pay on the mortgage as it is. I just want to keep my house! My boyfriend has a 1993 Dodge Dakota that is titled in both our names. What is the chance that we can keep it?