I am going to have to file bankruptcy--does anyone have some good advice so I will know what to look for?

I can't take the creditor's calling anymore...I'm a single mom and I want to give me and my daughter a fresh start--does anyone have any tips?I am going to have to file bankruptcy--does anyone have some good advice so I will know what to look for?
Hi there!


The pro-rata thing doesn't work. That person who gave you that advice is probably a debt collector.





Make sure that you understand all the consequences that this will cause. You will have trouble getting new credit initially and you have may have trouble getting work too, although it is illegal to be discriminated against because of your credit.





Remember too that bankruptcy attorneys are not litigators. They work ONLY in bankruptcy court so if you are served with a law suit or papers outside of the bankruptcy court (such as a district, superior court), your bankruptcy attorney won't be able to help you, even if they say they can or will. Don't take their word for it that they will look into it or make it go away. Bankruptcy court and the civil court system are two different things, and they don't tend to communicate to each other -- meaning the court won't know that you've gone through bankruptcy unless you tell them. I mention this because a common tactic that creditors use is to file last minute law suits during your bankruptcy proceedings. The law generally protects you from such lawsuits once your petition is filed. After the petition is accepted and the bankruptcy has gone into place, some of these creditors will try to sue you even still. If you've filed for bankruptcy and the debt has been discharged, the creditors have no standing in any court other than the bankruptcy court which rarely will ever reopen a case if they failed to attend the original hearings in bankruptcy court. I mention this because you will hear a lot of times consumers who end up with judgments on their credit report for discharged debt because they just assumed that it was covered under bankruptcy or that their bankruptcy attorney will take care of it.





Bankruptcy is an automatic defense against any future lawsuits on debts that have been discharged. So it's important to know that - that way if you are sued, you simply inform the court you filed for bankruptcy, and the lawsuit will be dismissed. But this is not automatic. I'm not saying that this will happen to you, but it's important to keep this in mind.





I just wanted to point this out so that you don't go through all the expense and trouble for nothing. Just keep those facts in mind. :)





Good luck.I am going to have to file bankruptcy--does anyone have some good advice so I will know what to look for?
Just go to a reputable attorney, and go to credit counseling, there are many books out now that will help you recover from bankruptcy soon. Lots of tricks of the trades that will help you recover in a shorter time. This book by Stephen Snyder is called life after bankruptcy and is one of the best books I've read period, the reason why I said that is because it is dealing with real life, your finance, peace, and getting your life back together again. There is so many lifes lessons to learn in this book. It gives you advice on credit, how to pay your bills, etc. Just lots of helpful hints on everything that has to do with bankruptcy and finances etc. You really need to get this book, it's worth it weight in gold. You'll thank me for it.
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.
You can stop them without filing bankruptcy. It's called a pro rata. This is basically a letter you send to the creditors explaining your situation. You can say you're a single mom, working two jobs, barely making ends meet, etc. Whatever your personal situation is. Then you can include a copy of your bank statement showing that you're not spending your money frivolously, etc. You would take off the account numbers of course. For good measure, you can also include a check for $1 with your bank statement proving that's all you have.





You would include in the pro rata that you understand you owe them money and you plan to pay them but you have to take care of your necessities first. Food, clothes, shelter, transportation.





This should get them off your back and allow you to focus on getting your money together to start making payments. Make payments whenever you can.





Another thing is that you can request they stop accumulating interest because that is making it harder to pay off.





I would google pro rata and see if you can find a form letter.





Hope this helps.
Don't do it yourself. Hire a bankruptcy attorney. I've seen too many people try to do it themselves that 99% of their filings get dismissed because they didn't file something correctly or on time.
Here is a good article, that will give you some advice.


http://www.creditscorequick.com/2008/01/鈥?/a>
If you are sure, fill out the paperwork, file it and get it over with. Be advised that the bankruptcy will be on your credit report for 10 years. You will have difficulty renting property, purchasing a vehicle, and be prey to lenders offering deals with ';usary'; interest rates.





But, if it's what you really want to do, then go for it.
Have you tried any consolidation companies? I would advice before filling bankruptcy you should contact a debt consolidation company as bankruptcy stays on your credit report for minimum 10 years and while it remains you cannot rent, purchase etc. Debt consolidation company would have a solution of your problem as they are the experts in this field. One of which I know is a reliable one...you can go for it.