how does someone know if they qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy in New york?
sometime has gone by where i have a ton of bad medical and credit debt that accumulated over the years where i could not afford making payments do to a major life change, and wanted to know what the ratio was for income to debt where you can file chapter 7? is it expensive?
The best place to start is by finding a qualified bankruptcy attorney in your area. Most attorneys will give you a free consultation and I recommend contacting a member of the National Association of Consumer bankruptcy attorneys.
what major life change? Many couples are staying together and sitting tight and not filing for bankruptcy because they simply can’t afford to. Sometimes an attorney or legal clinic will allow you, if you are destitute, to pay the fees later or to pay part of their fees if you’ve done most of the legwork on your case.
A chapter 7 up until a few years ago meant "everything" except for school loans was charged off, but the federal law changed a few years ago and now a judge will make you pay back what he thinks you can pay back (whether you can or not). A Chapter 7 can be filed only every 15 years and so if you anticipate more medical bills within that 15 years then now is not the time to go bankrupt. Sometimes hospitals or counties will help out in paying those medical bills or just charge them off if they feel you can’t pay. check it out.
Usually when people don’t have income from loss of work or disability and they are really under and can’t survive then they go for food stamps and look for county or state housing and then file for Chapter 7.
I would suggest to you that you first try Consumer Credit Counseling..