Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 2/6/2009

Question
I'm in debt up to my neck. I have $13,000 in unsecured debt, and to top it off, I co-signed a home equity loan for my mom who has since defaulted on her payments and is filing for bankruptcy herself. I know I am responsible for the $20,000 since I co-signed. I am suprisingly current on my credit card bills as well as my car payments. We're barely making it (my family and I...I have two very young daughters and a wife). My question is, in order to file for Bankruptcy, do I need to be behind on my credit card payments? I've been paying only $10 sometimes $5 above the suggested minimum, but my family and I are now living paycheck to paycheck and have depleted our savings account in order to survive. Also, we live in California, how much do legal fees cost and are there programs available to help people who don't have the money to file bankruptcy but want to? From my understanding, it's a pricey process. Will it completely wipe out my debt or will I be responsible to pay it back? One last question, will I be able to keep my car? I only owe $3,000 on it and have never missed a payment. Any advice, suggestions, or help would be trmendously appreciated. Thank you.

Answer
No you don't need to be behind in your debts in order to file bankruptcy.  As far as costs and legal fees, I cannot answer for others, but if you would like to schedule a consultation, I'll be happy to go over your situation and give you a fee quote.  Simply go to http://www.bklaw.com/consult/ and complete the 5 steps there.