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How Can Bankruptcy Help Me?

Bad Credit Advice — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:24:05 +0000

The decision to file for bankruptcy is never an easy one, however it should be made after consulting with Seattle bankruptcy lawyers in order to make sure that you are making the right decision for you. The general rule that you should follow in order to decide whether to file for bankruptcy is whether you can foresee yourself paying off the debt in the foreseeable future. If the answer is no, then you want to make sure that your debt will in fact be discharged by a bankruptcy filing and that you have no assets that over the allowable bankruptcy limits for your state. Debts such as those owed to the government or city for fines or criminal activity may not be dischargeable, however taxes over three years old from the date they were due may in fact may be able to be discharged.

In order to qualify for a chapter 7 bankruptcy where most of your debt will be forgiven, a debtor must have a below median household income. This is determined by the number of dependents in a household and whether the debtor is married. Therefore, even high income earners with several children may qualify for a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The next step is to determine whether you have any assets that are above the allowable bankruptcy exemption limits. This is something that will have to be discussed with a Seattle bankruptcy lawyer in order to make sure all of your possessions will be protected. Generally, most people are allowed to keep all of their possessions. In Washington state you can choose to use federal or state exemptions. The state exemptions are best used if you have equity in your home as you can protect up to $125,000 in equity, but the other exemption categories are lower. The federal exemptions offer higher exemptions for everything else such as household goods, vehicles, and even a wildcard exemption that can be used on whatever property you wish to protect. Therefore if you do not think that you will be able to pay off your unsecured debt, bankruptcy may be an option for you.

Bankruptcy Is A Last Resort

Bad Credit Advice — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:13:06 +0000

When someone has financial trouble, sometimes the first thing they consider is filing for personal bankruptcy. the problem with this is that bankruptcy can have far reaching results that may or may not be what the debtor expects. Bankruptcy can give you a head start, or a breather when you’re suffering under crushing debt, but it’s a serious remedy. Take some time to consider all of the ramifications, including these:

1. Bankruptcy stays on your credit report for ten years. Unlike regular bad credit, which only appears for seven years, bankruptcy shows up on your credit report for ten. this means that even if you spend five years improving your credit, some lenders will still say no to granting you additional loans simply because they see the bankruptcy.

2. If you have no assets to protect, you may be able to avoid bankruptcy. Bankruptcy helps you in that it prevents or delays creditors from taking your assets, such as your house, car or other items. Items you can keep in bankruptcy will differ from state to state, and the bankruptcy court will also expect that you show ability to repay eventually, before they allow you to keep assets. However if most of your credit is unsecured credit card debt, you may be able to negotiate with creditors to pay lower payments. Creditors don’t want to lose the entire amount they are owed in bankruptcy, so they may be willing to negotiate.

3. The cost of filing bankruptcy can be expensive. A bankruptcy attorney will likely charge $2,000 and up for a basic bankruptcy. And unfortunately it’s not easy to do yourself. On the other hand, working with a non-profit credit agency or talking to your creditors yourself can cost little to no money at all. You may want to give it a try before you file bankruptcy.

Given these negative effects of bankruptcy, you may want to explore other options, and make filing for personal bankruptcy the last resort in your attempt to get finances under control.

Is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Right For You?

Bad Credit Advice — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:41:15 +0000

Drowning in debt can be a debilitating experience, and bankruptcy might be the only way out of the mess. Bankruptcy is not the right solution for everyone, so here are a few items to consider before making the decision:

How Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Works

When going through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, there are a few specific steps that need to be followed. First, all filers are required to go through a credit counseling session in order to determine if bankruptcy is the correct strategy for their financial situation. Once this process is over, your Minneapolis bankruptcy lawyer can file the paperwork for you.

Next, an “automatic stay” is put in place, which prevents the creditors from taking action against you. A federal representative will work closely with your case, in order to manage the paperwork and dispense payments to creditors every month. This representative will continue to manage and monitor your bankruptcy case until you have been discharged from the process.

Chapter 13 Payment Plan

When the bankruptcy paperwork is submitted, your Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer will submit a form that shows your payment plan. The next three to five years will be focused around a payment schedule, and this payment plan will allow you to continue meeting current obligations while re-paying to outstanding debts.

The payment plan must be completed within five years, and when the balances are repaid you can be discharged from bankruptcy. Before this discharge occurs, it is mandatory for you to attend a financial management course, which will help you to learn financial strategies to use. These strategies will teach you more about credit, budgeting, and personal finance.

Don’t be scared of the Chapter 13 bankruptcy process, because it can be easy when you are working with a good lawyer. Committing to a payment plan can allow you to get back on track with your finances and create a better financial situation for you and your family.

Why Personal Bankruptcy Law Firms Can Aid in Financial Recovery

Bad Credit Advice — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:20:16 +0000

There may be moments when unexpected and unfortunate events transpire in families. For illustration, the spouse or even the spouse (or sometimes both) suddenly are fired from careers. What was once a steady and sufficient living is actually now gone, leaving the once happy household under a load of debt, and their loan providers bothering them at every instance and opportunity – over the telephone, coming from repeated mails as well as letters, perhaps even via e-mail. In such instances, filing bankruptcy could possibly be the best way to have a fresh start and start to reconstruct your credit history. However, many people are scared that this means that they can surrender their property or vehicle after they declare bankruptcy. This is where the representation and services of bankruptcy Provo legal professionals will help.

Bankruptcy Provo legal professionals are not able to just help you with the full steps involved in filing your bankruptcy and in many cases communicate with creditors to work out some kind of a repayment plan with these people, they’re going to even be the ideal individuals to tell you precisely what is going to happen in the event you file for bankruptcy. Certain unethical lenders will shock people into believing you will be having your home repossessed, your automobile, and other stuff you labored intensely for to obtain, but the thing is, you will discover individual bankruptcy exemptions which some consumers are aware of.

Should you not prefer all of your hard-earned paycheck to end up being used only for bills to loan companies when your household also demands it, Provo bankruptcy attorneysor lawyers can assist you declare bankruptcy and also accelerate things. As an illustration, they are able to be sure that all your debt collectors and collection agencies quit getting in touch with your family. Any legal cases or real estate foreclosures will be ceased. This is called an automatic stay. If you get the assistance of a personal bankruptcy attorney or lawyer, they will be able to ensure that the creation of the automatic stay is expedited suitable for you.

Throughout Utah, there are numerous assets for example your own items, household items, and several quantities of a home and vehicle equity is actually exempted from a bankruptcy proceeding liquidation. A personal bankruptcy attorney or lawyer can help you to possibly not surrender any kind of residence of yours.

If you find yourself in times where you will get your self in to more and more loan, or realise you are in circumstances where in your earnings are no longer sufficient to pay off all your lenders as well as leaving enough for your own and your loved ones, declaring bankruptcy is a better strategy to use. You can begin to repair your credit rating and get your life back afterwards. You mustn’t be afraid to file for bankruptcy, because policy was designed with you under consideration, to protect you in these situations. And with the help of the perfect individual bankruptcy lawyer, you can get all there is to know regarding personal bankruptcy straightened out, what you should do, and just how you can get your daily life back again. Furthermore, you don’t have to lose or surrender your property at the same time.

Refinancing your Home and Bankruptcy

Bad Credit Advice — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 08:11:10 +0000

Bankruptcy is something that many people do not even consider when they look at their finances. Until they get deep into debt, bankruptcy is not an option that makes itself apparent to many people. Although this is a good thing, when you do eventually file for bankruptcy, it is important to realize that nearly everything you own is an asset and has the potential to be sold in order to help pay off your debtors. After bankruptcy you may want to refinance your house for any reason, however after declaring bankruptcy you must ensure that you follow the proper rules when refinancing your house. There are more stringent financial rules to follow once you file for bankruptcy.

Waiting for the Right Time

The “traditional” (Chapter 7) bankruptcy, forces you to wait for at least four years after the bankruptcy is filed before you can refinance your home. If you have not taken on any more debt since filing for the bankruptcy and you apply through the Federal Housing Administration, you can refinance your house in as little as two years. if you have filed for bankruptcy within the past several years and are unsure if you are able to refinance your home, consult a Minnesota Attorney. They will be able to interpret the bankruptcy laws and let you know if you can legally refinance your home.

Programs Available to Help If you have recently filed bankruptcy and need to refinance your home, a St Paul Bankruptcy Attorney will interpret the laws to try and determine if you can legally refinance your home before the requisite four years have passed. Through the Federal Housing Administration you may be able to refinance your home much sooner than is normally allowed by law. Other circumstances may give you the ability to refinance your home much sooner than you originally expected. Traditional house refinancing is an option if you had to file for bankruptcy due to extenuating circumstances. These circumstances can include a death in the family, serious injury, or disability. In order to be allowed to refinance your house early because of extenuating circumstances, you must be able to prove the circumstances that you have claimed to the lender. It is their choice if they want to allow you to refinance your home.

2011 Will See Continued Record Levels of Insolvencies

Bad Credit Advice — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 12:33:06 +0000

Although nearly everybody view the word “bankruptcy” with a certain amount of horror, more and more people are finding themselves in the position where they need to file for bankruptcy in order to survive financially. Coming off of a record year for bankruptcies, many had hoped that with a new year there would be fewer bankruptcies in the future. However, many analysts and experts are predicting that the number of bankruptcies that will be filed in the coming year will greatly surpass the amount that were filed in the past year. The chances that you will end up filing for a Minnesota bankruptcy are much greater than they were only a few years ago.

Fewer Jobs means More Bankruptcies

The recent downturn in the economy has hit many people very hard. Although there are always a few fiscally irresponsible people who must file for bankruptcy every year, the economy has caused many people to lose their jobs and with it their financial security. As times of joblessness run on, the amount of debt that many people are forced to take on increases considerably. The amount of work that a Minneapolis bankruptcy lawyer sees every day has increased greatly as the economy and high unemployment rate continue to help drive people to file for bankruptcy.

Bankruptcies More Common than Ever

Although the economy is slowly turning around, the repercussions of the economy are still ringing loudly in the ears of many people throughout the country. To help prevent bankruptcies from becoming too common, Debt Relief Orders (DROs) were introduced in 2009 to help reduce debt without completely absolving the debtor of paying off the amount owed. The amount of DROs issued has shot up drastically over the past year, making up nearly twenty percent of all insolvencies. Bankruptcies rates also rose dramatically, with the number of bankruptcies expected to grow up to 25% in the coming year. As the economy continues to rebound, the number of bankruptcies should slowly go down as people manage to get back on their feet without being forced to declare bankruptcy. DROs are a step in the right direction, as they allow those who relatively small debts to help get a single debt reduced without filing for a bankruptcy.

3 Easy Ways To Avoid Bankruptcy

Bad Credit Advice — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 10:14:07 +0000

In our debt-filled society, many people are struggling with severe financial difficulties. Bankruptcy is sometimes the first thing people think of to free themselves from their debt problems, because they feel they have no other choice, but it is usually better to fix your debt problems. Bankruptcy should always be your last choice.

There are several options for you if you are in debt and do not want to declare bankruptcy. The most desirable option is to obtain a debt consolidation loan and close all existing credit lines.

All of those existing monthly loan payments that are eating you alive each month will be condensed into one low monthly payment using a new unsecured loan. Debt consolidation is a powerful alternative to bankruptcy and may save what credit score you may already have from getting worse.

An unsecured debt consolidation loan will help you consolidate all your unsecured debt and avoid bankruptcy. The newly borrowed money will significantly lower your monthly payments giving you a chance to catch up on your debt problem and will eliminate your high interest rate credit card bills. Even if you don’t own a home, you may still qualify for a debt consolidation loan.

A debt consolidation loan is repaid in the longer term at a relatively low rate. This means that the monthly repayments are lower. Using a secured loan on your home is always a better choice as it would give you a lower interest rate and lower monthly payments.

But you must compare the pros and cons of debt consolidation loans before getting into one. There are two options for consolidating debt, either you borrow money to pay all your debts or seek assistance from a debt consolidation service. The decision on which option will meet your needs has a lot to do with whether you can qualify for low mortgage rates on debt consolidation loans, and the total amount of debt you need to consolidate.

A debt consolidation loan condenses all your loans into one monthly payment. All debt collection actions get eliminated. More importantly, it will not affect your credit rating, in fact it may help improve your credit rating. Looking for debt consolidation services immediately decreases your monthly payments. It also brings to a stop, in some cases, some interest and fees.

By getting this loan and using it to pay off credit cards, you’ll pay much less interest. Once you’ve paid off your credit card or other debts, you’ll have a fresh start with your finances and can set up a budget where you can live comfortably without having to run up credit card debt again.

Debt consolidation is an excellent tool that can help you manage and reduce debt when you just can not seem to do it on your own. There are no solutions that can completely fix bad credit without a way to reduce debt and pay your bills on time. However, once your debt has gotten bad enough, this can seem almost impossible to achieve.

A credit counselor can give you the opportunity to join a debt management plan that provides immediate relief and allows repayment of debts without the high fees and negative ramifications of bankruptcy.

But your choice should be based on your financial situation, as well as fit into your own belief system and lifestyle.

Your Guide To Claiming Medical Bankruptcy

Bad Credit Advice — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 05:11:09 +0000

Claiming bankruptcy is sometimes all that one can do in order to get themselves back on the road to financial freedom. There are several reasons as to why individuals end up going down this route and it is a known fact in the US alone that the main reason for this stems from people claiming medical bankruptcy.

You might wonder how this can be so with the existence of private health insurance. Well first of all, not everyone can afford the monthly premiums and other people simply never worry about these things. They might feel that it’s pointless having an extra monthly bill for something that ‘might never happen’. For those who do have private medical insurance though, sometimes they are not sufficiently covered for certain treatments, illnesses or situations and that is when the trouble begins. You see, there is no such thing as claiming medical bankruptcy because one simply cannot claim bankruptcy on the basis of medical debt alone. One must include other forms of debt as well such as a mortgage or credit card debt.

This does not mean however, that you cannot claim bankruptcy on medical debts – you can. You also don’t need to worry about losing your home or any other assets that you might have as every state in the US has its own list of exemptions and many of these include your home. For a comprehensive list of the exemptions that vary from state to state you should either consult with a bankruptcy attorney or research it online. Generally, if there is no equity in your home then you can consider it safe.

Before you proceed with a medical bankruptcy claim it would be wise to consider any other alternatives such as a debt consolidation program or try and come to some sort of compromise with the lender you owe the debt to. Quite often the medical lending agency or hospital who loaned you the money in the first place will be willing to re-negotiate terms of payment that can lift you out of financial stress and avoid you having to make a bankruptcy claim which will have a devastating effect on your credit report for years to come.

Cheap Bankruptcy Process – What Bankruptcy Attorney’s Don’t Tell You

Bad Credit Advice — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:07:04 +0000

The process of claiming bankruptcy can be carried out without the assistance of a bankruptcy attorney. To be honest, bankruptcies are ‘easy money’ for most attorneys out there and under the sixth amendment to the constitution, an individual is permitted to represent himself in the bankruptcy court. One question on many people’s minds is ‘Can I get a cheap bankruptcy?’ and the answer to this is ‘yes’.

The Small Business Advisory Council was formed in order to provide people with cheap bankruptcy options and genuine help and advice. As many people who have to make a bankruptcy claim haven’t got a clue what to do when it comes to filing, the SBAC knew that they had to devise a foolproof system that was simple to follow, effective yet didn’t cost the earth. Priced at $324, this service can help you from the beginning right through to the end of your bankruptcy claim.

The SBAC will direct you on where to go to enroll for a credit counseling course or you can do the course through them as it is largely recognized and is also cheaper. They will also tell you where to get an up-to-date credit report from for free (in comparison with an attorney who will charge you at least $100). The SBAC work in conjunction with a document preparation service so once you have submitted your paperwork they will invite you for a meeting and prepare your claim for the bankruptcy court. You check the paperwork over for accuracy once you receive them from the online preparation service and trusting that everything is in order, you forward the paperwork to the bankruptcy court in your area. Don’t forget to include your filing fee of $299.

Your case is now in the hands of the bankruptcy court and within a few weeks the automatic stay will come into effect whereby your creditors will have been notified not to contact you regarding your debts as you have made a claim for bankruptcy. Within another few weeks you will be requested by the trustee (who has been assigned by the court to your case) to attend the 341 meeting (meeting of creditors). By law you must attend this meeting or your case will be cancelled. Any questions that you are likely to be asked will be prepared for you in your SBAC bankruptcy file. Once the meeting is over (it usually takes between 10-20 minutes) you will have approximately 6 weeks to complete the second credit counseling course and then forward the certificate of completion to the trustee. A short while later you should receive your notice of discharge and so you are free to start your life again.

Alternatives to Filing for Bankruptcy in Dayton Ohio

Bad Credit Advice — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:19:06 +0000

There seems to be a trend in our country where the first thing someone does whenever they get into bad financial straits is to immediately consider bankruptcy. And while bankruptcy can be a viable means to eliminated overwhelming debt (and as a side note, you should use Dayton Ohio Attorneys if you do go this route), there are other alternatives to filing for bankruptcy. As such, we will discuss a few of them below.

First, you can always try to renegotiate with your creditors. Keep in mind, if you do file for bankruptcy, there is a hierarchy that determines who gets paid first. More often than not, unsecured creditors are usually the last ones to get paid. Given the choice of receiving their money back (without interest) or getting pennies on the dollars, most unsecured creditors will happily negotiate with you.

Second, you can always seek out a consolidation loan to reduce your debts. With a consolidation loan, you combine all of your debts into one payment with a lower interest rate. As a word of caution: if you do this, you must never, ever borrow any more money while paying off the consolidation loan. If you do borrow money, you will dig a hole that is almost impossible to get out of without filing for bankruptcy.

The last alternative to avoiding bankruptcy is to reprioritize your life. If you cut your living expenses to the bare minimum, it may be possible to use the extra money saved to eliminate your debt.

While none of these alternatives may seem pleasant, they are far easier than going through the bankruptcy process (which can damage your credit record for seven to ten years). If you find that you have no alternative but to file for bankruptcy, we recommend you contact a Dayton Ohio Bankruptcy Lawyer.