When should you consider Bankruptcy? Ask yourself if any of the below apply to you.

Bills are stacking up?
Are you living paycheck to paycheck?
Never answer the phone without checking caller ID?
Know your rights when talking to creditors?
Rarely have enough money to cover monthly bills?
Usually only pay the minimum payments or less?
Put off paying a bill because you have to put food on the table?
The phrase "robbing Peter to pay Paul" applies to you?
Can't afford to miss even a single day of work?
You can't see yourself getting out from under your debts?

Exemptions ... In a BOX.

Every day, prospective clients call inquiring about bankruptcy options and one of the most asked questions is: Will I lose my property if I file a Chapter 7? Most of the time, the answer is NO.

Recently, I’ve had a couple of clients come in who are about to get married and who were considering filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The question they asked is: “Should they file bankruptcy before they got married or wait until afterward”.  In a lot of cases, it makes sense that a person would file a Chapter 7 before getting married.

What is the difference between a Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

If you have a second or third mortgage on your home, you may be eligible to strip the 2nd or 3rd lien off your home if your home is worth less that your current 1st mortgage. Lien Stripping is not a new idea in Bankruptcy but due to the current housing crisis, the practice is gaining ground. Lien stripping was not a common practice in the past mainly because most people has at least some equity in their home. Nowadays, with home prices falling, lien stripping may be an option for many people who are upside down with their mortgages.

A Chapter 13 is a Debt Repayment Plan. In a nutshell, a debtor’s debts are consolidated into a Chapter 13 plan and a payment plan is developed and must be approved by the Bankruptcy Court. The most common examples of debts that would be included in a Bankruptcy plan are credit cards, medical bills, car payments and mortgage arrearage. For Mortgages, this means the amount you are behind on gets put into the bankruptcy plan to allow you to keep your house. Beginning the month after your case is filed, you must make your current mortgage payments.

Foreclosure Tuesday:

If your house is scheduled for a foreclosure and you are working on a loan modification, keep in mind that the loan modification process does not necessarily stop the foreclosure process. Several clients have come to our Law Firm and said they were working on a loan modification and they thought that meant the foreclosure would automatically stop. This is NOT the case! If you are facing foreclosure, you can use the power of the Federal Bankruptcy Court to stop the foreclosure through filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case.