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As days go on, the more I’m finding the Bankruptcy popping its ugly head out, to remind us of our failures. This time it was for auto insurance.

In an effort to try and save us some money, especially since I had opened my 5th consecutive increase from Geico. I thought maybe shopping around for a new insurance company might be in order. Don’t get me wrong here, Read more

I’ve been receiving a decent amount of emails since the last post, regarding what I/we kept after the bankruptcy. To be clear, we did keep our home (and both mortgages that go with it) as well as my car loan.

Prior to our meeting with the bankruptcy trustee our attorney reviewed the fact that we were in fact keeping our home and that I did want to re-affirm my auto loan. The bankruptcy trustee also verified this information. We did not lose our home or car. Don’t be afraid of that. Unless you are behind on your loan it is in the bank’s best interest to re-affirm your loan and keep you making your payments.
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Bankruptcy Court:

The day had finally arrived and we were to be at the Bankruptcy Court by 10:30am. This actually worked good for us, we were able to get the kids on the bus and based on what they attorney told us, we’d be home in time to pick them up from the bus. The attorney had requested that we meet him at 10am for a final review and some coaching.

As we drove to the courthouse we both stayed silent. Everything that could have gone through my mind (in that ride) did. Like, why is she so quiet? Is she that disapointed in me? What would the judge ask us? I wonder if we’ll get our next tax return. Did I disclose everything? Why isn’t she saying anything?

Then out of the horizon (or the right from the parkway) we saw it. The Courthouse. It stood as tall as the sky would allow and the parking lot was sea of cars. She reached over and took my hand and said “we’ll get through this together” and like that I found a spot and parked my car.

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We met with our attorney for what will be the last time before the big date. This time it wasn’t in his office, it was in the conference room with a woman that worked for him, a huge stack of papers and two pens. This was it. When we’re done in here we’re only a few weeks away from completing this bankruptcy. It was almost as bad as closing on our house. We signed and signed and signed… It becomes monotonous after awhile. If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably try a joke or two to alleviate the situation, let me tell you that is not a good idea. If you miss something in these papers it could cost you thousands of dollars in fixing it. Pay close attention, bring sugar, drink caffeine, do what you need to do to stay awake, focused and constantly asking questions.

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Can I keep my Car after bankruptcy?

Can I keep my house after bankruptcy?

It’s a simple question and one that everyone in this boat has on their mind. What can I keep after I file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. We declared that we wanted to keep our home and car. Because the declared value of our jewelry (i.e. wedding ring) was what the court would consider low, it’s not even a concern. Regarding furniture, televisions and computers (like those I bought with the Dell credit card) are not a problem. They were purchased between 2-3 years prior to us filing for bankruptcy and depreciation has made their resale value very low. Read more

We received the letters yesterday. Two letters arrived at our house, each addressed to either my wife or myself. Both are for the same time, place and judge at the New York State Bankruptcy court. It’s kind of a weird feeling to know that this time next month it will be over. I won’t (or at least I can hope) receive any more calls at work, at home, to the neighbors or disjointed family across the country giving me messages from creditors. Read more

Since yesterday, I’ve been going through my bank account and making line entries with any money I received. It’s becoming very granular now, like $70 from Google or things like that. The attorney asked that I present him with 6 months of income. That’s not the problem. It’s the side gig’s I mentioned that concern me. So in the six month span I can easily show one half of my yearly income plus an additional $7,046.33.

So does this put me a bad spot? What about the means test? Read more

3 days ago, my wife and I were sitting in the attorney’s office, for our initial consultation on bankruptcy. I ended the meeting/consultation with the question “Will this information show up on the internet?” Bankruptcy is public record, so there is a chance that you can show up in Google, Yahoo!, Ask, MSN, etc. So then what I am I doing blogging about it? Well, for starters I’ll go by the pen blog name of Average Joe. Hi, I’m Average Joe. I’m a 34 year old married male from New York
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