"Credit Lawyer" Discussion

Upsolve Community Member
Hi. Did you do it all yourself or hired a lawyer. Thinking about filing chapter 7 and not sure if I should hire a lawyer or do it myself 

Upsolve Community Member
Congratulations Olakunle! The new year is off to a good start! Thanks for sharing your experience with Upsolve. 

Upsolve Community Member
Hi Taneshia, Yes I filed through Upsolve with $300 court fee. Good luck!

Upsolve Community Member
YESSSSSSS!!!!!  Congratulations Olakunie! Fresh Start in 2022!!! wooohooo! :-)

Upsolve Community Member
Congratulations! Happy 2022!! 

Upsolve Community Member
Conrgrats Olakune! Can you please share with us how long the process took? Also, by not hiring an attorney and going this way, during the whole process, does that stop the creditors from calling or filing judgements?

Upsolve Community Member
Congratulations on your discharge!! Woo hoo! After a hard-earned celebratory breather, you might want to do a quick read of Upsolve's tips in the article https://upsolve.org/learn/chapter-7-discharged/ to start reading up on how to rebuild your credit after bankruptcy. Congrats!! We're so happy for you!!

Upsolve Community Member
May 13, 2021 - completed my Chapter 7 Questionnaire with Upsolve June 26, 2021 - Uploaded all required documents ( Bank statements, ID copies) etc. July 14, 2021 - Filed with court in person, Filing fee $338July 2021 - completed my online Financial Management course Aug 27, 2021 - Teleconference meeting with creditors / Trustees Sept 24, 2021 - rescheduled meeting with Creditors / Trustees Oct 29, 2021 - rescheduled meeting with creditors / Trustees Oct 29, 2021 - Report of No Distribution filed by Trustee Nov 29. 2021 - Order discharging debtor signed Nov 29, 2021 - Final decree signed Dec 1, 2021 - Notice date

Upsolve Community Member
Hi Saed H, It's up to you if you wanna use a lawyer or not but in my experience during my research I figured out that using a lawyer will not make any difference except paying thousands of dollars that I can't afford. Remember you're trying to get rid of debts so you don't wanna end up paying someone money you can't afford. Your creditors will stop calling you as soon as your file with the court. Good luck! 

Upsolve Community Member
How many months of bank statements do you have to provide

Upsolve Community Member
Hi Sereathia D it depends on individual circumstances, in my case my trustees requested for 3 months which must cover the last transaction date on my bank statement...I already got a Charge-Off on my accounts since April 2020 so I visited one of the branches to request for Feb - March - April statements which arrived in the mail about 10 business working days later. 

Upsolve Community Member
Mary yes it really works i thought it would be hard...On the contrary pretty straightforward and simple.....and the upsolve team can answer your questions along the way.....

Upsolve Community Member
Hi Mary! I know, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Welcome to your free lunch...  It's actually a partnership because, through a series of questions and answers, YOU provide the answers and if some of the questions are confusing, the Upsolve Learning Center will most likely have your answers. This Community will assist you in locating the appropriate Learning Center information should you have difficulties. I am an Upsolver! I filed and was discharged in 2020. I couldn't afford a lawyer either and not only was Upsolve the tool I needed to do it myself, but I believe in Upsolve so much, I am here to assist others like you! Good luck, Mary! :-). 

Upsolve Community Member
I have a question. So far it had been easy enough answering the questions. I am stuck though on how how to find all the places you owe and cannot pay? A second question, is on credit Karma I can pull up Transunion and Experian (I think it was Experian). I have 2 credit scores show in the high 500's. They are a couple numbers a part. My question is I did not have a but 3 credited on it I owe..and my student loans whick say I am good standing. Anything else say there closed. So why is my credit score so low?

Upsolve Community Member
Mary, as a former Upsolve filer now rebuilding credit, let me see if I can assist with the several questions you have here. First, CREDIT KARMA is a commercial company NOT a credit reporting agency. This Upsolve Learning Center article: https://upsolve.org/learn/get-your-free-credit-report/ As far as Student Loans are concerned, late payments on private and federal student loans are reported to credit agencies. If they are in good shape, you won't see them on your credit report(s). I hope this helps! :-) 

Upsolve Community Member
You might also find this article helpful, Mary! https://upsolve.org/learn/do-not-remember-creditors-owed-chapter-seven-bankruptcy/

Upsolve Community Member
Thank you. It did help but it's really overwhelming trying to find all the places you owe. Do I go back as far as I can with the debt?  Does this Questioner have to be done in 5 days? What happens if it isn't? Like I said it overwhelming. Sorry guys to ask all these questions.

Upsolve Community Member
You can take longer if you need, Mary. Thanks so much for being here

Upsolve Community Member
Paige, thanks for asking! Great question. In general, for student loans to be discharged through bankruptcy, a bankruptcy filer has to go through a separate process- called an "adversary proceeding." You can learn more about student loans and bankruptcy here! https://upsolve.org/learn/bankruptcy-eliminate-student-debt/

Upsolve Community Member
However, it's common for student loans to appear as $0 on a credit report initially after a bankruptcy filing. Later on, it'll usually update and the correct balance will appear.

Upsolve Community Member
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/student-loan-debt-bankruptcy-mis-loe/ This is an Upsolve user! 

Upsolve Community Member
if you do try this, definitely ask around on here – there might be some other folks who also tried 

Upsolve Community Member
Hi Lynn, You may be a good fit for filing bankruptcy now, but that is for you to decide given your current financial situation. Here is an article to give you some guidance: https://upsolve.org/learn/should-i-file-for-chapter-7-bankruptcy/ Additionally, most people can keep their car and get debt relief by filing bankruptcy. Here is an Upsolve Article that covers this topic: https://upsolve.org/learn/can-keep-car-file-bankruptcy/

Upsolve Community Member
Lynn, thanks for asking! It sounds like you might find this resource helpful: https://upsolve.org/learn/debt-collection-lawsuit/ 

Upsolve Community Member
Please let us know if you have any other questions! 

Upsolve Community Member
Hi Lynn, I also recommend reading https://upsolve.org/learn/bank-account-garnished/. It discusses the limits on bank garnishments. 

Upsolve Community Member
I read the article on Bank account garnishment, however I’m not sure I understand it completely. It said it could garnish electronic deposits but not paper checks or cash deposits, Did I get that right?

Upsolve Community Member
Hm, it might be a bit more complicated than that- try reading that article again and this one might help too: https://upsolve.org/learn/stop-wage-garnishment/ 

Upsolve Community Member
Welcome, Patricia - I'm so glad you found us. To answer your query on whether not having assets or money to pay a lawyer prevents you from filing - **absolutely not**. In fact, most people who file Chapter 7 bankruptcy find themselves in some version of that situation. 

Upsolve Community Member
https://upsolve.org/learn/how-to-file-chapter-7-with-no-money/ might be an interesting read for you. 

Upsolve Community Member
Hi Patricia, thank you for your detailed post! Let's separate your student loan debt issue from your consumer credit challenge. I cannot advise you on this subject but I can point you to a great article in the Learning Center: https://upsolve.org/learn/which-debt-should-you-pay-off-first/  As far as your student loans are concerned, I suggest checking out the new https://my.upsolve.org/rooms/18 section in this Community! :-)