Need To File Chapter 7 - What To Do???

Question:
I'm in a pretty bad financial spot. I'm around $30,000 or more in the hole with debt including credit cards, medical bills, state fines, cell phone bills, and student loans. The cell bill was a result of a scumbag ex who stole my phone and ran up the bill. I have no job, as I lost my job almost a year ago under a wrongful firing I haven't had the funds to sue over. The job I lost was a job that paid almost $50,000 a year. I have not been able to get another job due to slander and libel from my former employer in conjunction with the wrongful firing. My unemployment benefits ran out a month ago, and I'm back to living with my mother until I can get another job and get back on my feet again. The creditors and collectors have been charging me outlandish interest charges that I can only call usuory. When I talked to them, and tried to work things out, they were very unreasonable, and sometimes even rude to me, so I told them all to FOAD. I have no assets, no car, nothing that could be sold or repossesed to raise funds to pay off any of this debt. I've tried contacting a couple of lawyers, but no responses yet. What do I do?? I've been dodging the collectors for a while, but I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to pay a lawyer to file bankruptcy. Collector dodging can only go on for so long. I heard somewhere that there's a way to force the collectors and creditors to "write-off" the debt, and leave you alone. Is this legal?? If so, how do I do it? I realize that it would probably still leave a black mark on my credit report, but my credit's hosed now anyway. Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer:
You do need to talk with a bankruptcy lawyer. Many provide a free initial consultation, but it may take a little while to set up the appointments, etc. In the meantime, don't talk with any creditors or collection agents on the phone and don't give out any information to them. Don't take anything they say as personal. Just stay completely detached. If you have a really strong legal case against your former employer, with significant potential damages, you can usually get a labor and employment attorney to take the case on a contingency basis. If you can't find a lawyer who will handle it on a contingency, it doesn't mean that you don't have a valid case but it probably means it's not worth your pursuing given your present circumstances. Ironically, if you file for bankruptcy and have a pending lawsuit, the trustee may attach any proceeds of the lawsuit to pay your creditors. So, if you have no lawsuit pending, have no job, and have no assets, now might be the time for file a Chapter 7. Maybe you can borrow the cost of file for bankruptcy from your mother. You'd have to list that as a lona on your bankruptcy documents, but that wouldn't prevent you from paying your mother back after the bankruptcy discharge when you have a job, etc. I am not a lawyer, so these are just my opinions based onn what your wrote.





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