Don’t Lose Your Home! Contact a Bankruptcy Attorney Today!
The decision to file bankruptcy is a serious decision but it is a decision that can give you a fresh start if there is no other way out. Bankruptcy is a legal way to discharge unsecured debt that can provide an overwhelmed debtor with a new beginning. It may be possible to keep your present home and your car after filing bankruptcy. If the decision is made to file bankruptcy, they will explain to you the pros and cons of the two types of bankruptcy available to individuals, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.
Chapter 7 is what most people usually think of as bankruptcy. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a debtor’s non-exempt assets are liquidated or sold with the proceeds used to pay toward unsecured debts such as credit cards, loans, and medical bills. In the majority of bankruptcy cases people do not lose any property and the unsecured creditors get nothing. Several months after filing bankruptcy the unsecured debts are discharged and the creditors can never collect on the debt. A secured creditor may still enforce a lien to recover property secured by the lien.Chapter 13 is a debt reorganization or consolidation bankruptcy. If a debtor has regular monthly income, their debts including mortgage arrears, car payments, credit card bills, medical bills, loans, student loans, etc. are combined into one low monthly payment. Since the debtor is paying back their creditors through a repayment plan, the debtor does not risk losing their assets as they may under Chapter 7 bankruptcy laws. During the repayment plan creditors are prevented from contacting the debtor without first going through the debtor’s bankruptcy attorney and the court.
Millions of people declared bankruptcy in 2007 to get the fresh start they needed. Contrary to popular belief, your credit is not permanently damaged and it is still possible to get credit after filing bankruptcy.