Chapter 7 and Potential Lawsuits

[Dmessina666]

So I went thru with hiring an attorney about 10 days ago. I met with him, seems great. Much better than the first one I spoke with. 

My biggest concern: Lawsuits while I am in the "waiting to file" stage. In Massachusetts, in order to be covered for $500k homestead, you need to be in your house more than 1,215 days. I do not hit that mark until 10/21/2023

Its so close, but seems so very far. Currently, I am not late on a single account. I'm including a personal loan and cards. I will not start getting 30 day lates for another 3-4 weeks from today. 

Im keeping the car and house. Everything else is being included. My main question:

If I am sued, do I have enough time from the day of being served, to make it to 10/21/23 when I can actually file? I know the potential is there to be sued, I understand if I file before any judgements, I'll be ok. The risk of losing my house by a creditor putting a lien on it is scaring the **bleep** out of me. Is the process of being sued lengthy enough for me to be ok?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. 

[sccredit]

A couple things:

1. Lawsuits can be delayed forever with a competent attorney. I found most that threatened to file never bothered once my attorney informed them I would be filing.

2. A judgment lien can be removed from your home in most jurisdictions.

3. Do not let fear of a lawsuit deadline drive your decisions. I did. My attorney was worried about a default judgment from a case related to the failed business. We rushed it and mistakes were made. Lost the house AND homestead to their errors. Had to file a malpractice suit to recover pennies of what were lost. Had to change attorneys mid-case. 

Take a deep breath, the chances of a judgment being entered and a lien filed before October are slim to none IMO.

[Dmessina666]

First off, thank you for such a quick response. We have a large family, and all 6 of our children are still under 18 and at home obviously. 

The equity cap in Mass. is $190k if you are under the 1,215 days. My estimated equity right now is hovering around $200k. It would be too much of a risk filing today, so my attorney i Rialto recommended Chapter 13, make payments for 36 months and then done. Then he said, "I hardly would ever say this, and don't know too many attorneys that would, but I'm gonna recommend you do 7. We'll wait the time needed, and go from there". The attorney sold me on that, bc he had me hooked for $5-6k in fees with him, then offered the 7 at an even more discount rate after we met. 

I believe he can see I'm not hiding anything, just fell on some debt that was necessary, on top of interest rated rising 1,000 times these past couple years. Again, thank you for your advice. I'm going to try like Hell to put it to use inside my brain.