Lawyer comments

[deedee1]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state?PA
Husband filed Chapter 7 -- credit card debt, no assets. Dragging on since January. Now the hearing to dismiss is scheduled for November. Due to increase in school tax, insurance costs, gasoline, etc. husband has wanted to amend Schedule J since August (before deposition). Lawyer insists on doing it at hearing so as not to "show our hand". Does this make sense? If the trustee had the amended schedule back in August, maybe the hearing in Nov. would not be necessary. Husband has less than $50/month now.

Lawyer also mentioned after deposition that even if Chapter 7 is dismissed, I could get my name on my husband's savings and checking accounts. That way the credit card companies could not get anything from him. If that's the case, why don't we do that now? It's already $5,000 in legal fees and should be another $2,000 before everything is done next month.

 

[bigun]

Since the situation is already adversial, I think the lawyer likely has the right idea. No need letting the trustee have time to do some digging and refute the new expenses. From your previous posts, it sounds like the trustee will insist on a hearing anyway.
Don't muddy the waters. The BK comes with an automatic stay preventing cc companies from attaching assets. There is no need for you to be on the accounts right now. Why get into a position where the trustee may claim you're trying to hinder the bk process by transferring assets?

 

[deedee1]

Just wanted to get another opinion on what the lawyer is saying. Thanks so much! I love this forum and appreciate all who have responded over the past several months.

With the mounting legal fees, we just thought of dropping the Chapter 7 and putting my name on his accounts. Another $2,000 on top of the $5,000 is an awful lot. He wants to take on a second job but the lawyer says that will only count as additional income. I guess he is in too deep at this point to do anything else but see it through.

There doesn't seem to be much on this forum regarding someone going through a hearing to dismiss. Has anyone been through this? What can we expect at the hearing? The lawyer strongly advises me to attend in case I am needed to validate anything. The deposition with this trustee was just awful, so we don't look forward to the hearing.

 

[Ladynred]

Putting your name on the accounts isn't going to protect them at all. As long as HIS name is on the accounts, a diligent judgment creditor can STILL take clean out those accounts.

 

[deedee1]

If the court would decide against my husband and "force" him into a Chapter 13, what would happen with the $7,000 in legal fees he will have accumulated getting to that point? Would it get added into the amount the court would have him pay over the next 5 years? That alone would be $117/month which he doesn't have.

 

[Ladynred]

The legal fees would go into the Ch 13 plan and the lawyer would get paid out of that.