Are creditors harassing you?  Are your wages being garnished?  Are you facing foreclosure?  The current economy is affecting many hard-working people, and causing financial hardships for many.  Bankruptcy may be able to get you out of such tough financial situations.  Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer today to see if bankruptcy is right for you. 

Our Bankruptcy Attorneys can help you:

• Stop Bill Collectors
• Stop Pay Day Loans
• Stop Lawsuits
• Stop Repossessions
• Stop Foreclosures
• Stop Tax Garnishment
• Get help with Student Loan Debt
• Get help with Judgments
• Get Help with Back Taxes

Bankruptcy is a way to get a fresh start free of debt. A decision to file for bankruptcy should be made only after determining that bankruptcy is the best way to deal with your financial problems.  This website cannot explain every aspect of the bankruptcy process.  If you still have questions after reading it, you should speak with an attorney familiar with bankruptcy.  Whether bankruptcy is right for you depends on your unique financial situation, and will be determined after discussions with our attorney but the information below should answer some of your basic questions.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What Is Bankruptcy?  Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding in which a person who cannot pay his or her bills can get a fresh financial start.  The right to file for bankruptcy is provided by federal law, and all bankruptcy cases are handled in federal court.  Filing bankruptcy immediately stops all of your creditors from seeking to collect debts from you, at least until your debts are sorted out according to the law.

What Can Bankruptcy Do For Me?  Bankruptcy may make it possible for you to:

·        Eliminate the legal obligation to pay most or all of your debts.  This is called a “discharge” of debts.  It is designed to give you a fresh financial start.

·        Stop foreclosure on your home and allow you the opportunity to catch up on missed payments.

·        Prevent repossession of a car or other property, or force the creditor to return property even after it has been repossessed.

·        Stop wage garnishment, debt collection harassment, and similar creditor actions to collect a debt.

·        Restore or prevent termination of utility service.

·        Allow you to challenge the claims of creditors who have committed fraud or who are otherwise trying to collect more than you really owe.

What Bankruptcy Cannot Do.  Bankruptcy cannot, however, cure every financial problem.  Nor is it the right step for every individual.  In bankruptcy, it is usually not possible to:

·        Eliminate certain rights of “secured” creditors.  A creditor is secured if it has taken a mortgage or other lien on property as collateral for a loan.  Common examples are car loans and home mortgages.  You can force secured creditors to take payments over time in the bankruptcy process and bankruptcy can eliminate your obligation to pay any additional money on the debt if you decide to give back the property.  But you generally cannot keep secured property unless you continue to pay on the debt.

·        Discharge types of debts singled out by the bankruptcy law for special treatment, such as child support, alimony, most student loans, court restitution orders, criminal fines, and most taxes.

·        Protect cosigners on your debts.  When a relative or friend has co-signed on a loan, and the consumer discharges the loans in bankruptcy, the cosigner may still have to repay all or part of the loan.

·        Discharge debts that arise after bankruptcy has been filed.

What Must I Do Before Filing Bankruptcy?  You must receive budget and credit counseling from an approved credit counseling agency with 180 days before your bankruptcy case is filed.  The agency will review possible options available to you in credit counseling and assist you in reviewing your budget.  Different agencies provide the counseling in-person, by telephone, or over the internet at a cost of about $35.00 to $50.00.  If you decide to file bankruptcy, you must have a certificate from the agency showing that you received the counseling before your bankruptcy case was filed.

What Property Can I Keep?  Filing for bankruptcy does not mean that you will automatically lose all of your property.  In a chapter 7 case, you can keep all property which the law says is “exempt” from the claims of creditors.  In determining whether property is exempt, you need to consider the value of the property and your equity in the property, if any.    In a chapter 13 case, you can keep all of your property if your plan meets the requirements of the bankruptcy law.

What Will Happen to My Home and Car If I File Bankruptcy?  In most cases you will not lose your home or car during your bankruptcy as long as your equity in the property is fully exempt.  Even if your property is not fully exempt, you may still be able to keep the property in either a chapter 7 or a chapter 13, provided certain requirements are met.

Will Bankruptcy Affect My Credit?  Bankruptcy will stay on your credit for about 7 to 10 years.  Unfortunately, if you are behind on your bills, your credit may already be bad and bankruptcy will probably not make things any worse.  Because bankruptcy wipes out your old debts, this will help your credit score.  Additionally, after your discharge you will likely in a better position to pay your current bills, and you can immediately start rebuilding your credit. 

Will Everyone Know That I Filed For Bankruptcy?  Bankruptcy is public record but unless you are a prominent official in society, people aren’t going to go looking. In most cases, the only people who are going to know are those who you tell and those who have access to the bankruptcy court record system.

Am I a “Bad Person” For Filing Bankruptcy?  No.  There is a reason that over one million people file for bankruptcy each year and it is not because they are bad people.  Many times people have to file because they have lost their job, gone through divorce, or experienced medical illness.  Bankruptcy is a solution to help good people get through a bad time. It provides hard working people with the fresh start that they deserve, but are not able to obtain on their own. Bad times don’t make a person bad.

Can I Choose What Debts to Include In My Bankruptcy?  No. You do have to list all of the debts that you owe and the property that you own. You cannot discriminate between creditors, even if you want to keep paying them.  Some of your creditors may get paid after the bankruptcy, but you must list all of your debts in your bankruptcy paperwork.

Is It Hard To File For Bankruptcy?  No. There is a lot of paperwork involved, but having a skilled attorney makes the process much smoother. At your FREE initial consultation, we will discuss what paperwork you need to gather before we file your bankruptcy case.

Can Back Taxes Be Discharged In Bankruptcy?  It depends.  You may be able to get rid of income taxes that are more than three years old by filing bankruptcy. There are several qualifications that have to be met in order for the taxes to be wiped out, but having just a portion of the taxes discharged can be a big relief.

What If I Have Filed Bankruptcy Before?  Although you can file for bankruptcy as many times as you like, you are limited by how often you can receive a discharge. You can receive a discharge from Chapter 7 once every 8 years. You can receive a discharge from Chapter 13 every 2 years. If you get discharged in a Chapter 7 you have to wait 6 years before getting a discharge from Chapter 13. If you get a Chapter 13 discharge then you need to wait 4 years to get discharged from a Chapter 7.

Can Creditors Still Harass Me If I File For Bankruptcy?  When the bankruptcy is filed, a protection called the “automatic stay” is put onto you and all of your property instantly. Creditors are not allowed to contact you for any reason, which includes calling or even billing you. If they persist in harassing you, you do have remedies available through the Federal Bankruptcy laws, which our attorneys can explain to you.

Call a Bankruptcy Attorney today!

801-393-5555