Filing for Bankruptcy

Since you have no assets, you will probably be looking at filing a Chapter 7. There are certain ramifications that your BK attorney will discuss with you -- there is some sort of a means test that your income has to be below (which I'm sure $1300 is well below), and you cannot have already filed a Chap 7 within the last 6 years. You also need to take credit counseling before your case can be discharged, but I hear that is a joke.

Bankruptcy provides certain exemptions for various assets that you own. You car, for example, has little or no value, you rely on it for personal needs, and it would be of no benefit to the creditors -- so you will be able to claim it exempt and keep it. The bank account I'm not sure of; I don't think the BK courts require you to close your bank account, but if your bank finds out you filed BK then they might close it on you.

Other than that, sit tight, wait for your meeting with the attorney and he will be able to explain a lot of things for you.

The counseling is a joke. You pay $50, do it online, and it takes a whole 5 minutes.

Filing BK will not cause your bank account to be closed, but you will have to provide statements covering the date you file. Debt cruncher is right though about the bank closing your account if they catch wind of the filing. That is a possibility.

There is no bigger joke than the counseling! Everything on it is common sense........it takes 5 minutes but they require that you take like 2 hours doing it, or they won't issue you a certificate!

Isn't that the second one? The one your take before you file is really fast - The one you have to take to get the BK discharged is the one that you have to spend 2 hours doing . . . . Right?

I actually had the first counseling thing the other day. The counselor told me all I had to do when I was ready to file bk was to give him a call & pay the $50 fee then he would send me a certificate.
I had to close my bank acct today as the payday loans took the $ from my new acct even though I didn't authorize it. So I guess that will not be an issue right now.
Thank you all for your help.

Morgan, how did the pdls get your new bank ifo to withdraw the money

Goudah, you are right now that I think about it. The first one took about 5 minutes but it was the last one that they made you spend 2 hours on.

Morgan I filed Ch 7 in may 07. It was discharged in August. I had over $25,000 in credit card debt. My income at the time of filing was just over $1700 a month(gross).
I passed the means test with no problem. I believe that test is determined by the median income of your area. I agree with the others your income shouldn't be an issue. As far as having to close your bank account, I would think not. I didn't have to do that.
Now as far as your car, I agree also you will probably be able to keep it. Since I was paying on a loan for my car at the time of the bankruptcy, I decided to continue paying on it so I could keep my car. I got to keep my car because I reaffirmed the loan(basically I agreed to continue paying on it).
I was renting an apartment at the time, and did not lose any personal posessions. I basically don't have any assets that are valuable enough to pay off the debts I wanted to wipe out.
Of course, this was all determined by the trustee. It was a huge load off my shoulders once I received the discharge papers stating there would be no redistribution of my assets(basically the trustee wasn't going to take any of my personal stuff).
The only thing I see as a negative for filing Chapter 7 for you is paying your attorney. In my Chapter 7, I had to pay my attorney upfront. But I think I was lucky to have real good attorney. She allowed me to make payments(outside of an upfront fee about $800, which I was lucky my parents helped me on this)of $100 a month. In the end, I paid just over $2,000 in my case. I still feel it was worth every penny to get those debts off my back.
If you decide to file bankruptcy, one word of advice. Be honest. DO NOT hide any assets/liabilities from your attorney. You must be prepared to show EVERYTHING. And explain it. Your attorney needs to know it all to make the best case for you with the trustee.
If you decide not to file, all I can say is make sure you use a reputable debt consolidation company, if you must use one at all. My mother went through a similar situation before filing Ch 13. She stated to me she would have been better off filing bankruptcy in the beginning because she was getting nowhere on paying off her debts through a debt couseling company. I never considered one because of what she went through. The only thing I attempted before making the decision to file for bankruptcy, is try to get a debt consolidation loan through my bank. Once that was turned down, I went straight to a bankruptcy attorney.
One other major thing to consider, the bankruptcy will be on your credit for 10 years if you do decide to file. You must decide if it is worth it.
Every case will be different. Your consultation will probably determine what step you will take next. Let us know how it goes.
I hope any of this helps you or anyone who reads this.

jsprout73- very good info here, thanks. I am searching around this site and dug this old thread up tonight, and as I said it is helpful.

Scott