Q for lawyers - Information Subpoena questionaire

[Opti]

Swamp, J, The Mid, and others who might know from the other side of the aisle,

P&P has a returnable motion for mid this month which is the information subpoena I did not return or fill out on the advice of my lawyer in Legal Services. While I will speak to him today, I wonder if I partially fill it out what in your opinion might convince them to withdraw the motion?

I have already sent a handwritten letter last week sometime to the office
because I am filing BK. I'm not sure if they crossed paths in the mail or more likely just seeing this envelope made me decide to send the letter before fully reading the contents. I see red when I see their name. They have a rep as bottom feeders and I have done the best that I could in paying these debts, this one in specific screwed more than they needed to but that's not here nor there.


What they want is any and all info so they can liberate some cash off me to at least reimburse themselves for legal fees. I own a car but with the amount of repairs it needs I'm guessing I could get perhaps $1-$2K for it
based on repair costs and the Kelly Blue Book value of the car. I am not putting that in the form because to show and prove that is too much work. I do not have current repair estimates for all the work it needs in one place nor do I want to let BMW do it as the last one took me awhile to get over. (When you see a recommended repair cost around $5K and affording the oil change was a challenge it deflates my mood for way too long.)

I have had no decent paying FT job since I stopped paying on this debt.

[Opti]

Continued

Right now stuffed in their envelope along with the partially filled form
is my two resume versions. Techie and low rent job resume, i..e receptionist and similar stuff. If nothing else it shows I am not hiding money because I have a good job and I am just being a PITA and not wanting to pay. I hope it
shows I am not paying because I can't pay or prefer not to pay and live in my car off dumpster food.

[Opti]

Don't all post at once, I might get confused.

[Waffle]

Optimist - give it time. The lawyers aren't awake yet.

[973beachbum]

Sept 11, 2012 5:41:42 GMT -5 Opti said:

Continued

Right now stuffed in their envelope along with the partially filled form
is my two resume versions. Techie and low rent job resume, i..e receptionist and similar stuff. If nothing else it shows I am not hiding money because I have a good job and I am just being a PITA and not wanting to pay. I hope it
shows I am not paying because I can't pay or prefer not to pay and live in my car off dumpster food.

OPt you give nothing to anyone except your lawyer! Let me repeat that you are to give NOTHING to anyone but your lawyer!

From what little I know though if you car has no liens on it you can claim it as an exemption for your bk. There are limits to that type of thing but from what you have said you are going to file chapter 7. You should be able to keep your personal property.

Now take a deep breath and relax. When you get to your appointment tell your lawyer that you got the letter from them asking about things like your car. Then explain that it is your only car and has no loans on it.

[midjd]

Have you filed BK already? If not, you probably should ASAP. Once you do, all those communications have to stop... but until then, they can file collection actions and seek garnishment.

When you say they've sent you a "motion" - is there a court action in progress? I can't tell from the OP.

Either way, Beachbum is correct that you should talk to your lawyer before any further communication with them.

[Bluerobin]

OPTi, refer all inquiries to your lawyer. Let him earn his fee.

[Opti]

Sept 11, 2012 8:04:00 GMT -5 midjd said:

Have you filed BK already? If not, you probably should ASAP. Once you do, all those communications have to stop... but until then, they can file collection actions and seek garnishment.

When you say they've sent you a "motion" - is there a court action in progress? I can't tell from the OP.

Either way, Beachbum is correct that you should talk to your lawyer before any further communication with them.

Yes, it is an informational discovery thing something like what Shasta was requested to do. I have a Legal Services lawyer so my access is not what it would be as if I had the $2K to file regularly.

He's reversed his advice from last time, but it may be because this is round 2. He said he will fill it out. I have filled it out partially and left parts blank because I don't want to give them ANYTHING that could hurt me.

I will do what I can do. My health is borderline and I am at high risk of crashing and burning because of stress. Tomorrow might be better if I sleep most of the night instead of say, 2 hours.

[Opti]

Sept 11, 2012 8:04:00 GMT -5 midjd said:

Have you filed BK already? If not, you probably should ASAP. Once you do, all those communications have to stop... but until then, they can file collection actions and seek garnishment.

When you say they've sent you a "motion" - is there a court action in progress? I can't tell from the OP.

Either way, Beachbum is correct that you should talk to your lawyer before any further communication with them.

Mid, I am gathering all the info needed and dropping it off. It is not a quick
process, at least for me. He just updated his info for my personal property and bank account balances when we were on the phone. Originally I thought I'd have it all in by end of July, then the end of August but I have been having issues with my car, etc. that also need immediate attention.

[Opti]

Sept 11, 2012 7:41:28 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Sept 11, 2012 5:41:42 GMT -5 Opti said:

Continued

Right now stuffed in their envelope along with the partially filled form
is my two resume versions. Techie and low rent job resume, i..e receptionist and similar stuff. If nothing else it shows I am not hiding money because I have a good job and I am just being a PITA and not wanting to pay. I hope it
shows I am not paying because I can't pay or prefer not to pay and live in my car off dumpster food.

OPt you give nothing to anyone except your lawyer! Let me repeat that you are to give NOTHING to anyone but your lawyer!

From what little I know though if you car has no liens on it you can claim it as an exemption for your bk. There are limits to that type of thing but from what you have said you are going to file chapter 7. You should be able to keep your personal property.

Now take a deep breath and relax. When you get to your appointment tell your lawyer that you got the letter from them asking about things like your car. Then explain that it is your only car and has no loans on it.

Not too worried about the car, but I am delaying having the title put in my name. I think I paid it off somewhere around 2007 or so. I was worried in 2005, which why I decided not to do bankruptcy then.

[Opti]

Sept 11, 2012 9:43:14 GMT -5 @bloomscuzzer said:

How come you are not sleeping but two hours? You should take care of your health. In stressful times you need to make time to take care of your health.

How come you own a car but the title is not in your name? How does that work?
A bsnkruptcy seems a good time to start anew on lots of things. I hope you can get a plan for sleeping better and looking after your health. Good luck to you going forward.

I suppose in your reality if you buy a new car you don't have to get yourself to the DMV after it is paid off to get the paper trail fixed? It has been very low on the priority list of to do items.

My best plan involves enough money to take care of my health. My slightly next best plan is to be less angry when going through stuff.

[midjd]

He's reversed his advice from last time, but it may be because this is round 2. He said he will fill it out. I have filled it out partially and left parts blank because I don't want to give them ANYTHING that could hurt me.

It's good to let your lawyer handle this - in discovery, there can be a variety of legal implications for leaving things blank or providing only partial answers. (E.g. interrogatories - generally anything left blank/not addressed is deemed "admitted.")

Yes, it is an informational discovery thing something like what Shasta was requested to do. I have a Legal Services lawyer so my access is not what it would be as if I had the $2K to file regularly.

I'm still a little confused, and Shasta's thread isn't handy so I forget what her situation was. Is this a separate collection action - not part of the bankruptcy? Or is this the information the trustee is requiring you to provide in order to process your bankruptcy?

[Deleted]

You do not have to answer the interogitories if you file BK.

The attorney I spoke with said that if they have a lien on your property and then try to do that with the interogitories, like they did to me, it is illegal.

I would throw them in the trash. The BK court will notify them you have filed. If you haven't filed, please do so. Request a fee waiver and you won't have to pay anything for your BK. I didn't have a dime out of pocket, other than my $1K EITC that I ended up having to give them.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Sept 11, 2012 9:58:57 GMT -5 Opti said:

Sept 11, 2012 9:43:14 GMT -5 @bloomscuzzer said:

How come you are not sleeping but two hours? You should take care of your health. In stressful times you need to make time to take care of your health.

How come you own a car but the title is not in your name? How does that work?
A bsnkruptcy seems a good time to start anew on lots of things. I hope you can get a plan for sleeping better and looking after your health. Good luck to you going forward.

I suppose in your reality if you buy a new car you don't have to get yourself to the DMV after it is paid off to get the paper trail fixed? It has been very low on the priority list of to do items.

I thought that the lienholder automatically notifies the state DMV that they are no longer a party to the title?

[Deleted]

I think in my state you get an extra fee if you wait more than a few days to change over the title to your vehicle. I think you also get an extra ticket if you get pulled over. Same thing if you don't have insurance on said vehicle.

Then again, if it isn't in your name, it isn't party to your BK filing.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

I guess I just question if you're really not on the title? If the lienholders notify the DMV as a matter of course, does it really matter if you haven't had the title cleaned up yet? I mean, isn't it already in the DMV's computer that you're the owner? I've never waited to transfer mine, or the company's whose fleet I took care of.

[973beachbum]

Sept 11, 2012 10:47:42 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

I guess I just question if you're really not on the title? If the lienholders notify the DMV as a matter of course, does it really matter if you haven't had the title cleaned up yet? I mean, isn't it already in the DMV's computer that you're the owner? I've never waited to transfer mine, or the company's whose fleet I took care of.

NJ MVC computer records are updated immediately when they get notice that a lien holder no longer has a lien on a vehicle. The do not automatically change the paper title though. Some people it is real important to them and some don't do anything until they go to sell it. Either way it costs $40 to get a new title for any reason.

If it is for buying a car there is also a $40 late fee if you take longer than 2 weeks I think.

Spoken as a former NJ car dealer title person/everything else they needed done. ;D

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

So, what really matters is that to the DMV (MVC), you are the owner of the vehicle regardless of what you have/haven't done with the paper title? Legal folks who contact the DMV would see that it's your asset. That makes sense, really, because otherwise people could hide a lot of money in cars if they just never changed the title over.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Sept 11, 2012 11:42:31 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

So, what really matters is that to the DMV (MVC), you are the owner of the vehicle regardless of what you have/haven't done with the paper title? Legal folks who contact the DMV would see that it's your asset. That makes sense, really, because otherwise people could hide a lot of money in cars if they just never changed the title over.

As well as avoid paying plate fees, registration fees, excise/personal property taxes, parking tickets, insurance premiums, etc.

I suspect the actual paperwork is just a formality in NJ.