Has any one ever filed bankruptcy and included their house? How long did the process take and how long did you have to be out of the house after the process started? Just curious my DH and I are getting ready to meet with a bankruptcy lawyer. I am curious what I am in for. Thanks.

By Anonymous on Monday, August 18, 2008 - 09:28 pm:

We did not include our house. I can tell you to be prepared to have a ton of paperwork ready- paystubs, bills, creditors, etc. We had a consult appointment and they explained it all and pulled our credit report and things like that and told us what to bring next time. We filed Chapter 7. We had to have mandatory credit counseling due to the new laws. If you make less than the national median income the new laws don't really apply except for the credit counseling part. It cost us $1400 total about 2 years ago. Like I said I don't know about the house issue since we stayed in ours but the rest is probably stuff you'll have to do too. Sorry you have to deal with this.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 09:21 pm:

I honestly have no clue, but I figured I would give you a bump back to the top.. Good luck with all of this, your lawyer should be able to lay it all out for you..

By Ginny~moderator on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 04:01 pm:

That's why you have a lawyer. This is definitely a question to ask your lawyer. Used to be that if you had a mortgage, your house was not part of the bankruptcy because the mortgage is a "secured note", secured by the property. But they changed the bankruptcy rules a few years ago, and it will take a bankruptcy attorney to advise you.

I went through a bankruptcy many, many years ago. All I can remember is that it seemed fairly mysterious, and I was embarassed and scared. And yes, you'll need lots of paperwork, and your bankruptcy lawyer will tell you what you need. At this point, your bankruptcy lawyer is the only person on your side. So listen to him/her carefully, and do what the lawyer advises. Just be sure that the information on whatever you sign is truthful - if it's not, it can come back to bite you in the most uncomfortable place.