I want to file for bankruptcy and I need to know for which…

Well, you're eligible for Chapter 7.

Chapter 13 simply looks at your income and your debts and figures out how much you can afford to pay each month in repayment. A chapter 13 repayment plan is from 3 to 5 years. If you cannot afford the monthly payments to pay the entire debt, whatever you cannot afford gets discharged. Chapter 13 is a favorite of people who have something to lose, like a house or a car. If all you have are bills, then you can probably go with a chapter 7. You can get it done in less then 6 months. It wipes everything out.

Find a reputable bankruptcy attorney in your area. Their fee comes out of your monthly payment so everyone can afford it!

Yes, the attorneys fees are included in the entire debt and get paid out of your monthly payment. And you do not omit anything from a chapter 13. You include the car along with everything else.

Talk to a few bankruptcy attorneys, have them explain the payment plans and talk to them about chapter 13.

South Carolina gives you a $6,100 exemption in the equity in your vehicle; if it's worth $6,100 more than you owe, That's what you get to keep if the bankruptcy trustee decides to sell it in a chapter 7. But if the vehicle is not worth a LOT more, the trustee may abandon it and just let you keep it, because if she chooses to sell it, first she has to pay off the loan; then she has to give you your equity up to $6,100. There may not be anything left to pay creditors.

With a Chapter 13, you have the possibility of what they call a "cramdown." If you owe more than the car is worth, a chapter 13 will actually reduce your payment. Otherwise, you'll just keep making the payments.

And thank you for your confidence in me but I do not get to SC much. California, Nevada, Florida, Connecticut. And a few places out of the country. But there are a lot of good BK attorneys out there. Talk to them. Go on a few of those "free" consultations. You want someone that's going to pay attention to YOU.

Is the car worth more than you owe? If so, how much? You have to look it from the bankruptcy trustee's perspective: will this asset provide money to pay creditors? There's no point in selling the car if it is not going to pay any bills. And like I said, if you owe more than it's worth, a chapter 13 might reduce the total debt owed to the dealer and lower your monthly payments.

I am not in South Carolina. If I were there, I would have to apply to that district court to be allowed to represent anyone, as I am admitted only in the Central District of California. So I am sorry but I could not do this. You'd need someone who is local to your bankruptcy court. And filling out forms is 99% of a bankruptcy proceedings. All you really have to do is prepare a list of your income, assets, and liabilities. All of them. Don't leave anything out. Then as I said, find a few bankruptcy attorneys in the area that offer free consultations. I don't' know what city you're in but here's a list of SC attorneys that practice bankruptcy law. Note that some of them offer "FREE CONSULTATION." Make a couple of appointments.

You're welcome! C'mon back to this thread if you'd like more info. Your BK case is actually not that complicated...you could buy a do it yourself book and probably handle it as good as any paralegal. Check this out: https://upsolve.org/learn/best-do-it-yourself-chapter-7-bankruptcy-software/

A bankruptcy can only discharge "pre-petition debt." Once you file the petition, any new debt incurred is not covered. However, you incurred the debt in February when you were treated. So I would include the medical costs as existing debt even if you don't know how much it is. As long as the debt is in existence as of the date you file the bankruptcy petition, it's covered.

If you've got $17k in medical bills the offer to settle should be way more than $14k, although I don't know anything about your case. Generally your damages are from 3 to 10 times the amount of medical bills, depending on the seriousness of the injuries and the egregiousness of the other driver's conduct.

They will reduce the damage percentage by the relative fault of the other driver (you), but the fact that they are making an offer suggests that you have a case. SC has something called "modified comparative negligence." You cannot sue if you are more than 50% at fault. If you are less then 50% at fault, you can sue, but your damages can be reduced by the percentage of fault that the jury assigns to you.

So lets say $17k in meds gives a presumptive damage figure of $51k. But you were 20% at fault, so they reduce the damages by 20% and your settlement amount becomes $40,800. That's how it works.

Mediation or arbitration is actually something to see if you've never done it. I think it's ridiculous. There's a mediator, or arbitrator, running back and forth between two rooms. You and your lawyer are in one room; the insurance company rep is in the other. The arbitrator talks to one, then to the other, telling each the other party's position about specific issues. The insurance rep is going to pick at your case bit by bit trying to reduce the damage figure, and your attorney has to counter all that picking with reasons why they are wrong.

Good luck.

The thing is, when you settle, you won't be bankrupt any more, will you?

You can always mediate. Your lawyer files the lawsuit to protect the statute of limitations if the negotiations drag on for a long time. And if you don't agree, you're set to go to trial.

If you file before the case settles, you have to disclose the lawsuit in your petition. It's an asset, even though you don't know how much it's worth. If you wait until after it settles, you have to disclose the cash. It's still an asset. I'd probably want to file it right away, before you settle, because there is always the chance that the bankruptcy will close before the case settles. Even then you may have to repay part of the BK with any cash received from the settlement, less any exemption. The federal bankruptcy exemption is $25,150 for personal injury settlements. If your state has "opted out" of the federal rules, then you'd look for the state exemption.