Each question is answered in general terms and should not be construed as individual advise for your circumstances. There is no attorney/client relationship until debtor has met with the Attorney to discuss their individual case.
Will I have to go to Court?
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Debts you must pay or surrender the merchandise:
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How will my credit be affected?
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Can my creditors take my belongings?
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Can I choose what I keep and what I surrender for my secured debts?
Yes, every debtor must appear at least once for their 341 hearing with your attorney and with the trustee. Creditors will have a chance to appear and ask questions of the debtor.
There are some debts that were incurred at the point of purchase that are considered "secured debts", such as a car, a house, jewelry from Zales, or furniture from a furniture store, etc.. These debts will have to be paid or the property can be surrendered to the creditor with no payments, or they can be redeemed for a lump sum.
Any bankruptcy will have an effect upon debtor's credit for a period of time. However, the adverse effects will probably be shorter than the adverse effects debtor experiences from having a debt-to-income ratio that is out of balance. If debtor's amount of debt is large in comparison to their income, not filing will likely have a longer lasting, negative, effect on debtor's credit than filing. This happens because it would take years to pay debtor's debts off on a modest income, usually longer than the effects of bankruptcy.
Reaffirming on certain debts and paying them timely will help to re-establish credit more quickly.
Most of your household goods will be exempt under Federal and State exemption statutes. So creditors cannot take these items. However, certain possessions that are secured (as mentioned above) will have to be paid or redeemed in order to retain the item.
Only to a certain extent. Each secured creditor also has the choice to reaffirm with you or decline a reaffirmation depending on whether or not your account is current and whether you are keeping proper insurance on the property, like a house or car.
Certain credit unions have what is known as a "Cross-collateralization" clause in their written agreements with you. These have been used to force debtors into reaffirming on ALL the debts with that creditor in order to save the secured item.
Certainly, over time your credit can be restored. Things that will accellerate this are reaffirming on secured debts and paying them timely. That means making your payment a few days ahead and never a day late.
Often, your credit will improve faster than if you had never filed bankruptcy at all and continue to limp along paying only the Minimum payments and not reducing the debt so it goes on and on affecting you for years and years.
Bankruptcy filings are public knowledge and open to the public for review at the bankruptcy courthouse.
Time to get those Aggressive Creditors off your back?
Creditors are getting more aggressive and calling your work place, relatives, friends. You can turn your "pesty" creditors over to us, once you have retained one of our Bankruptcy Attorneys. Simply Call and schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys. Then place a $350 deposit down towards your bankruptcy fees (*remainder owed after deposit will be $945 for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, (plus your Filing Fee for the Court $335 for Chapter 7, and/or $310 for a Chapter 13 filing fee to the Court). The remainder of your balance to us can be paid by making monthly, or bi-monthly payments until your bankruptcy fees are paid in full. *You set the monthly payment amount.
*If you are already under a Garnishment , you may want to pay your fees faster to get your bankruptcy case filed faster to stop the garnishment. Bankruptcy fees have to be paid in full at the time of filing a Chapter 7.
GARNISHMENTS WILL END WHEN YOU FILE YOUR BANKRUPTCY
After you file bankruptcy creditors cannot call you or garnish your bank accounts and cannot garnish your paychecks further. You are placed under an "Automatic Stay" which provides you with bankruptcy protection from collection activities.
All your creditors must be listed on your bankruptcy Petition with complete addresses, account numbers and amounts owed in order to be discharged. For $38/ per person, we can download all 3 major credit reporting agency's data into your bankruptcy, so we can list your most up-to-date figures of what you owe and clean up your credit report.
Just let us know if you would prefer this service. We recommend it. Listing all your old creditors is the first step to re-establishing good credit and cleaning up your credit report. Plus, it provides all the addresses and account numbers necessary to discharge the maximum amount of debt.
