Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a process under United States bankruptcy law, by which you may be entitled to eliminate your debts quickly and receive a fresh start.

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Chapter 7 bankruptcy may remove your personal liability for most kinds of unsecured debts, including credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, car accidents (if unintentionally caused), and repossessions.

While getting rid of your debt, Chapter 7 may allow you to keep all of your property. Most people do not lose their furniture, electronic equipment, jewelry or appliances. People who are current on their house and car payments when they file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and who keep making those payments after filing, usually keep their house and their cars, while wiping out all of their unsecured debts. Read below about the benefits of Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If, after reading about it, you want to learn more about bankruptcy, then phone us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our experienced (20-plus years) bankruptcy attorneys.

Stop the Harassment!

If creditors are bothering you at work, calling at all hours, and constantly stressing you out, you can end it by hiring The Bankruptcy Center. Upon retaining us, you can refer your creditors to us. We can significantly reduce or eliminate harassment by creditors, even if you have already stopped paying them or stop paying them immediately after hiring us. We can restore your serenity.

Rebuild Your Credit

Despite what you might hear on TV or from friends and family, your credit will not necessarily be “ruined” if you file bankruptcy. In fact, your credit might actually get better if you file bankruptcy. “Credit” is the ability to borrow money or to finance purchases of goods and services. If you have late payments, charge-offs, judgments or repossessions on your credit report, then you probably cannot borrow money very easily; in other words, you have bad credit. But bankruptcy effectively wipes those late-payments, charge-offs, judgments and repossessions from your credit record, because, after going through bankruptcy, you are debt-free. Since lenders know you are now debt-free and cannot receive a bankruptcy discharge (the wiping out of debt through bankruptcy) for another eight years, they may be much more likely to loan you money (i.e., your credit may have gotten better) than before you went through bankruptcy. Yes, bankruptcy actually can improve many people’s credit!

Stop Wage Garnishment

If a creditor garnishes your wages, then your pay check is reduced or taken entirely, and you can’t afford to pay your rent or feed your children. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is one of the best ways immediately to stop garnishments of your hard-earned wages. By filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy and stopping the garnishment, you don’t have to worry anymore about whether you will have a roof over your head and food on the table; in fact, you can start thinking about saving money for the future.

End Lawsuits and License Suspensions

Lawsuits can be extremely stressful and expensive, even if you ultimately win. If you are being sued, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can stop the lawsuit in its tracks. The laws of many states allow your driver’s license to be suspended if do not have liability insurance at the time of an accident, regardless of whether there is proof that you were at fault. The Bankruptcy Center can help you get your license reinstated if it was suspended because of an uninsured car accident or an unpaid parking ticket. Chapter 7 or another form of bankruptcy can stop a lawsuit immediately, prevent your creditors from receiving a lien on your home, or from garnishing your hard-earned wages.

Keep Your House, Car, and Personal Belongings-Reaffirmation

Home and automobile lenders would rather get monthly payments from you than repossess your property, even if you file bankruptcy on your other debts. Continuing to make your monthly house or car payments, despite going through bankruptcy, is called “reaffirming” your home or auto debt. When you reaffirm your debt to a home or auto lender, they know that you have few or no other debts, that you cannot get a bankruptcy discharge for another eight years, and that you must continue to pay the original principal loan amount plus interest, in order to keep your home or car. They are therefore happy to work with you. Paying off your car or making your house payment for an extended period will look very positive on your credit report. The Bankruptcy Center can arrange for you to reaffirm your debts on your home, car or other household goods that you are financing. By doing this, you can keep your stuff and rebuild your credit.

Restructure your Car Loan

If you now owe more than your car is worth, we may be able to help. The Bankruptcy Center offers two paths to lower your car payments. First, we might be able to force the car lender to accept a payoff for only the current value of the vehicle, even if you owe a lot more than the vehicle is worth. We can even help you arrange new financing for the Chapter 7 “redemption” of your vehicle. Alternatively, Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be used to reduce your car payments, so that you only pay the current value of the vehicle over time, plus interest, even if you owe a lot more. Any money owed to the finance company above the car’s current value can often be paid, if at all, at pennies on the dollar. Even if your car has already been repossessed, we may be able to force the finance company to return your vehicle and still reduce your car payment. The longer you wait, however, the less likely this becomes.

Eliminate Deficiency Balances

Once your car is repossessed, the lender usually sells your car at an auction to generate some cash. You are still legally liable to pay the difference between the auction price and the amount of your loan, called a 'deficiency balance'. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can eliminate your liability for the entire deficiency balance, no matter how large.

A Free Consultation and Reasonable Fees

If you want to learn more about bankruptcy, we offer a FREE in-person consultation with one of our experienced bankruptcy attorneys. Not with a paralegal or a document preparer, but an attorney with over 20 years experience. There is no obligation, and we will not pressure you to file bankruptcy or to retain us. But if you believe that we are the right people to guide you through bankruptcy, then we will charge you a fee for our services that is fair to all concerned, and we offer flexible payment plans that will allow you to pay us in full over time before your bankruptcy case is filed. Knowledge is power. Let us empower you!