Bankruptcy Attorney

Talking to a Bankruptcy Attorney doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve made a decision – it can simply be part of your information-gathering process when deciding if bankruptcy is your best move.

Bankruptcy is a legal means by which an individual or a company declares an inability to pay creditors and petitions the Courts to discharge debts. The U. S. Bankruptcy Code provides several options which address different circumstances, that are designed to give petitioners a “fresh start”.

Filing for bankruptcy is a serious decision with long lasting consequences and should not be undertaken without understanding the basic process and options.

Many people wait until their situation is dire before contacting a bankruptcy attorney only to find that there is little time for the lawyer to prepare and file the petition that will stop foreclosure, vehicle repossession or other legal actions of creditors.

Within two weeks of filing the petition, the court will send a Notice of Commencement of Case to the bankruptcy petitioner and to all of the creditors listed in the bankruptcy petition.

This notice will include the time, date and location of the creditors meeting and the deadlines for claims and/or objections from creditors.

Schedules containing information about the petitioner’s debts, assets, income and expenses must be filed within 15 days after the case is commenced.

These schedules often are filed with the petition; but in an emergency situation the petition may be filed immediately and the schedules filed later after collecting the required information and documentation.

In most cases, the court will enter an “automatic stay” as soon as the case is filed, prohibiting creditors from taking any further collection action while the bankruptcy case is pending or until further order of the court.

This “stay” prohibits all collection activity and stops any lawsuits filed against you and almost any other action against your property and your paycheck. Phone calls, letters, attempts to foreclose or repossess property are all forms of collection that are in violation of the court order.

The automatic stay applies to both Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcies. In the case of Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the automatic stay may continue in effect for the duration of the repayment period, which could be up to 5 years.

All petitioners filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection are required to complete a U.S. Trustee approved Credit Counseling Briefing.

It’s important that your bankruptcy attorney file the Credit Counseling certificate with your bankruptcy petition.

Bankruptcy petitions filed without a Credit Counseling certificate may be dismissed. This can have disastrous consequences since creditors can then take action, such as moving forward with a foreclosure or repossession.

• Are you heavily in debt, with little prospect of getting out of that debt in the near future?
• Have you had, or are your creditors threatening, a foreclosure on your home, a repossession of your car or other legal action to take your property?
• Have you experienced a dramatic drop in income?
• Are you frequently late paying bills?
• Do you only pay the minimum on your credit cards?
• Are you unable to make even the minimum payments?
• Do you have to sacrifice basic necessities just to make ends meet?
• Have you bounced more than one check in the last two months?
• Are your wages being garnished?
• Are you going through a divorce resulting in a decrease of income but an increase in expenses?

If you can answer yes to more that half of these questions, you may want to talk with a Bankruptcy Attorney.