Get Out Of Debt

Filing for bankruptcy can be a very scary thing. There are a lot of things to think about and you should really consider the consequences of what filing for bankruptcy will mean for you before you do it. A bankruptcy lawyer will guide you through the process, but they want to to file because that is how they make money. Here are some things to consider before you file for bankruptcy.

First, how much money do you make each year compared to the size of your debts? If your debts are less than half of what you make in a year, then you should not file for bankruptcy. Sure you might have to cut back on some of the extras and it might take you 3 or 4 years to get completely out of debt, but you will have much better credit and you will not have to suffer the effects of a bankruptcy that will be on your credit for 7 years.

Second, do you own your home and do you have any equity? If you own your home and have some equity, then you have leverage to refinance and pay your debts off. If you file for bankruptcy the court is going to make you use your equity to pay off creditors anyway so you might as well use it for yourself before you are forced to. Plus you can get your mortgage company to settle some of your debts for less than you owe to help you out.

Last, do you own your cars outright? If you own the title to your car or cars, then you can get a title loan or sell them to help out with your debts. The bankruptcy court is going to allow your creditors to take your vehicles or place liens against them anyway so you might as well use this leverage to work in your favor before it works against you.

You should consult a financial advisor before ever considering such a decision like filing for bankruptcy. This is a large and life altering decision and, yes, you should get out of debt, but bankruptcy is not always the answer.

Are you considering bankruptcy? Does your situation seem desperate enough to warrant the use of bankruptcy to get out from under your debts? Even though you cannot file bankruptcy online you can download all the forms you will need to file for bankruptcy in the courts. You do need to make sure you are making the right decision and do not forget about these options.

Your first alternative is to use a credit counseling service. Sure you will have to swallow your pride and tell someone that you could not manage your finances, but they hear this everyday and many of them were in your situation at one point so they understand what you are going through. Plus they are there to help you and not criticize you.

They will help you put together a plan to get out of debt and move on with your life in a better way. They will also counsel you in credit and help you set up a manageable budget so you can live a better financial life.

Another alternative is to go to your priest or pastor and see if anybody within the church has volunteer to help the others with their finances. This is often the case and they are usually a financial advisor, accountant, or someone else that has been in debt and climbed out.

You can get the help you need without having to worry about filing bankruptcy online, but if you do decide to file bankruptcy you can do it without an attorney. You can download all the forms and they have instructions so you can file it yourself and save about 85% of what a bankruptcy attorney would cost you.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is one you file for liquidation. During this bankruptcy proceeding your assets will be sold as directed by the judge to pay off your creditors. It is essentially a bankruptcy proceeding for consumers who don’t have enough money to pay off their creditors.

In order to buy this some time to recover financially and satisfy creditors, consumers may file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy claim relinquishes your nonexempt property to the bankruptcy trustee. At this point the trustee will proceed to liquidate the property (convert to cash), and subsequently distributed to your creditors.

Not all people can qualify for Chapter 7. A few of them that do qualify are those who own real property, working people, and people who live or have a residence in the USA. You can file for Chapter 7 insolvency provided you haven’t filed for either chapter seven or Chapter 13 in the last 6 years.

After deciding to declare bankruptcy, your lawyer must verify your qualifications to do so. Your lawyer will conduct a financial audit to determine if in fact you are in a financial bind significant enough for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy declaration. During this period your monthly earnings will be scrutinized, and will have to be equal to or less than the median income for your particular state in order to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. And of course your monthly expenses such as, your rent or mortgage payment, food, other monthly bills will be deducted from your monthly income.

If your earnings are at least $100 under the state’s median income than you’ll have the right to file Chapter seven insolvency. During Chapter 7 insolvency, which is different than Chapter 13 insolvency, your obligations will be wiped out and you’ll be given a new start financially.

The largest flaw to chapter seven insolvency is naturally the total eradication of your credit for at least ten years, an incapability to borrow for no less than 2 or 3 years, dependent on when your insolvency is discharged. This is the reason why most credible debt control or legal firms will counsel you not to file a Chapter seven claim apart from as a final resort.

In future articles we will go into much more depth on Chapter 7 bankruptcy, including qualifications to make a claim, as well as, the short and long-term ramifications Chapter 7 bankruptcy will impose on you.

Bankruptcy FAQ

How much will Bellevue bankruptcy cost me?
Bankruptcy cases generally cost about $1000 and $2000 for a Chapter 7. While this is a good estimate, prices will differ depending on your situation and the type of bankruptcy that you file. A Chapter 13 is much more expensive because it take much more time and work.

Will I lose everything?
No you will not. Depending on the type of bankruptcy you file under, you may not lose anything at all. If you file Chapter 13 the bankruptcy court does not require you to give up any assets. In a Chapter 7 the bankruptcy court will require you to give up any non-exempt assets, but with the help of a bankruptcy attorney most people who file bankruptcy must not give up any assets.

Will my creditors leave me alone?
They certainly will. Once you submit your bankruptcy petition, your creditors will no longer be allowed to try to get money from you. This happens because the bankruptcy court will send an automatic stay to all your creditor on your behalf. This automatic stay legally prohibits them from trying to contact you at all.

How will bankruptcy affect my credit score?
A bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for 10 years after you file bankruptcy. Most people are not approved for a mortgage loan for 2 – 3 years after they file bankruptcy. However, most people find that after 3 years the major effects of bankruptcy have greatly decreased.

What happens during bankruptcy?
Before filing bankruptcy, all debtors are required to complete a credit counseling course. This course can be completed in person, over the phone or online. Your attorney will help you sign up for it.

Your bankruptcy attorney will then help you get the necessary paperwork together so that your request is filed correctly with the bankruptcy court. Once you have filed, an automatic stay is put into place. This prohibits your creditors from contacting you anymore.

You will then prepare a list of all your assets and debts. Your assets will be divided into two groups, exempt and non-exempt. You will keep all your exempt assets and your attorney will protect your possessions by making them exempt. You will bring this list to a meeting with your creditors and a trustee appointed by the bankruptcy court. The trustee will take your non-exempt assets and sell them. The money raised will be payed to your creditors. The rest of your debt will be discharged.

All you have left to do is take a personal financial management course that can also be completed in person, by phone or online. After that you are living your new debt-free life!

Any person in their right mind does not want to file for bankruptcy protection. Having a root canal is several levels about that in terms of “things I want to do”. One of the big problems is that when someone finally gets around to admitting that their financial situation is so far down the wrong road that it is out of control, it’s almost too late. The decision to file bankruptcy or consider bankruptcy should have been made, with any foresight at all, at least 2-3 years earlier in most cases.

Sometimes the financial burden may have come about very suddenly, like a major medical expense that was not unexpected, or a job layoff with trouble finding a replacement job for an extended period of time.

There is no hard and fast rule about when a person should file bankruptcy. It varies from individual to individual, and every situation has its own specific quirks, so that one can say definitely that “one size does not fit all”. But one of the problems that happens when one starts looking to bankruptcy as a way out of their financial difficulties is that very traditional thinking starts to set in.

Traditional thinking about bankruptcy says that bankruptcy is an “easy way out” of one’s financial difficulties and overloaded burden of debt. You just file, the slate is wiped clean, and then life goes on, right? Dead wrong, especially with the new bankruptcy laws, which still vary widely from state to state. The new bankruptcy laws make it much more difficult to file for bankruptcy than it ever was in past years, and it is no longer just a quick trip to the courthouse with a couple signatures.

Today’s bankruptcy laws make filing bankruptcy a much more invasive procedure, where they look at every nook and cranny of your life and your finances to determine why this happened and what type of bankruptcy you are required to file. Bankruptcy used to be something that you could, with a good deal of study and patience, do yourself without the assistance of a bankruptcy lawyer, but that is no longer the case. The laws are now so complex that attempting bankruptcy without an attorney’s help would be foolish, as well as probably taking almost twice as long to accomplish, since if you incorrectly file one of the mountain of forms, you get sent back to square zero to start from scratch.

But is bankruptcy really necessary? In other words, what alternatives and options have you thoroughly looked into? Oh, you haven’t? Shame on you. Filing for bankruptcy protection is going to have long lasting negative effects on you. For example, it will appear as a huge red flag on your credit report for 7 years or more. Credit will be hard to come by, and when you are granted credit, the interest rate will be much higher than you have ever seen it before, because now you are labeled as a high credit risk.

One of the very viable bankruptcy alternatives is a debt consolidation loan. They don’t actually hand the money to you though. Rather, they take your outstanding and overdue accounts, and you pay one monthly payment to them, which they in turn divide up to send to your creditors. Your creditors are happier than they’ve been in years because now timely payments are being made, and you credit rating does not hit the skids, at least not completely, because you were able to avoid bankruptcy.

Check your alternatives and options before making such a critically important decision as filing for bankruptcy. You always have options, and the key to successful living is to acquire the knack for choosing the right one.