If you're struggling to pay your bills and have determined that a bankruptcy filing is your best way forward, there can be a temptation to try to handle all the legal documentation and filings on your own, so that you don't have to pay attorney fees. That's almost always the wrong decision, and for a variety of good reasons: The bankruptcy … [Read more...]
Court Ruling Helps Debtors with Medical Bills
If you've incurred significant medical bills and it's led you to consider or file for protection under the bankruptcy laws, you're not alone. According to a study conducted by Harvard University, nearly two-thirds of people who filed for personal bankruptcy cited medical bills as a factor in their financial challenges. It's estimated that as many … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Your Credit Score after You’ve Filed for Bankruptcy Protection
When you are struggling to meet your financial obligations, you may resist the decision to seek protection under the federal bankruptcy laws, fearing that your credit will be permanently ruined. While there's no question that your credit rating will temporarily decline, there is credit life after bankruptcy. It is possible to rebuild your credit … [Read more...]
The Federal Bankruptcy Exemptions
When you seek protection under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code (assuming you have met the requirements of the "means test"), you can permanently discharge certain debts in exchange for allowing the bankruptcy trustee to sell some of your assets and give the proceeds to those creditors. However, you don't have to transfer everything to the … [Read more...]
Can I Keep the Proceeds of a Settlement or Verdict if I Have Filed for Bankruptcy Protection?
Often, one of the primary factors that leads people to seek protection through a bankruptcy proceeding is a personal injury. If you've been hurt, you may be unable to work, and unable to meet your financial requirements, leaving you with no other choice but to seek bankruptcy protection. With a Chapter 7 filing, you can permanently discharge some … [Read more...]
Exceptions to the “Automatic Stay”
The "Automatic Stay" The "automatic stay" is one of the most powerful tools of bankruptcy. It's the law that automatically goes into effect right when your bankruptcy case is filed, and stays—or stops —all collection activity against you and your property. Although the "automatic stay" protects you against just about anything a creditor can do … [Read more...]
Stop Wage Garnishment in Texas with Bankruptcy
Texas is one of the few states in the country that generally don't allow the garnishment of wages for collection of consumer debts. But there are major exceptions where garnishments CAN occur, including: child support and alimony federal taxes student loans if your employer is out of state a judgment against you was entered in another … [Read more...]
Stop a Vehicle Repossession with Chapter 7 or13
One of the most powerful tools of bankruptcy—the "automatic stay"—can stop your car or truck from being repossessed by its creditor. The automatic stay is the law that automatically goes into effect the moment your bankruptcy case is filed to stay—or stop —all collection activity against you or your property. Filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case … [Read more...]
Stop a Home Foreclosure with Chapter 7 or 13
The bankruptcy power called the "automatic stay"immediately stops a home foreclosurethe moment your bankruptcy is filed. What happens after that depends on whether you file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case, and on what you want to accomplish. Buy Some Time with Chapter 7 A Chapter 7 "straight bankruptcy" cancels an immediately pending foreclosure … [Read more...]
A More Complicated Chapter 13 Case
In the absolutely simplest Chapter 13 case you pay a monthly amount each month based on what you can afford and it's divided prorata among your unsecured debts. So, say, you pay $300 for 36 months, and all of your debts are paid 20% of what you owe, and at the end of the case all the remaining debts are discharged—written off. But Chapter 13 … [Read more...]