Bankruptcy is a process in which consumers and businesses can eliminate or repay some or all of their debts under the protection of the federal bankruptcy court. For the most part, consumer bankruptcies can be divided into two types — liquidation (Chapter 7) and reorganization (Chapter 13).
What Can Bankruptcy Do For Me?
Stop foreclosure on your home and allow you to catch up on delinquent payments
Stop repossession of a vehicle or other property
Stop wage garnishment & harassing creditor phone calls
Stop lawsuits
Eliminate credit card debt and medical debt
Void judgment liens
What Are The Different Types Of Bankruptcy?
Chapter 13 – A consolidation and restructure of your debts which creates a repayment plan that is better designed to fit your ability to pay based on your income and monthly expenses.
Chapter 7 – Often considered the most straightforward kind of bankruptcy. Eliminates most unsecured debt (credit cards, medical debt) as well as the balance on any secured debt (home, vehicle, etc.) which you surrender or return to the creditor. Debts for any secured property which you wish to keep, such as your home or vehicle must be current at the time of filing and you must continue to make those payments or make arrangements to repay them.
Chapter 11 – A reorganization for businesses and certain debtors whose debts are extremely large.
Chapter 12 – bankruptcy for farmers.
Finding the Bankruptcy Plan That Works for You
Not all bankruptcies are the same. It is important to understand the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 when considering your options. It is equally important to have a bankruptcy lawyer on your side that will take the time to help you find the best plan to work for you. Unfortunately, many bankruptcy law firms focus too much on volume (taking on as many clients as they can) and therefore are not client-focused. In fact, in these types of firms have paralegals do most of the work and you may not even meet with the attorney responsible for your case. Thus, in these “bankruptcy mills” a client may be steered toward filing one chapter of bankruptcy when another chapter would be more appropriate considering their circumstances. In our firm we do substantial pre-bankruptcy counseling in order to be sure the right chapter is filed.
Bankruptcy isn’t about giving up. It’s about taking action to rebuild your credit and your financial health. We have seen year after year, client after client, how a well-crafted bankruptcy can dramatically improve people’s lives. It costs you nothing to take action and schedule a free consultation to discuss how the California and Federal bankruptcy laws can help you.
Take back control of your financial future and contact our office.
Contact our office through our online form or by calling 831-224-3199 to schedule a free initial consultation.