Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is a process provided for under United States federal law by which you are entitled to a fresh start. Chapter 7 may eliminate most kinds of unsecured debt. Some examples of unsecured debts are credit cards; medical bills; most personal loans; judgments resulting from car accidents; and deficiencies on repossessed vehicles. In addition to getting rid of your debt, you typically can keep all of your property. As long as your car and mortgage payments are current, and there is no significant equity in your property, we should have no problem making the arrangements for you to reaffirm the debt. Keep your home, keep your car, keep your personal belongings, but eliminate your debt. It is possible to use Chapter 7 to provide you with many benefits. Read about those benefits below and about other subjects related to bankruptcy. Through a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy you can: Stop Creditor Harassment If creditors are bothering you at work, harassing your family, friends and neighbors, or calling at all hours, you can put an end to it immediately simply by hiring me to represent you. Upon retaining my services, I provide you with a special telephone number so that you can refer your creditors to me. I will keep the creditors off your back, and you can stop paying your creditors immediately. Eliminate Repossession Debts After a vehicle finance company repossesses your car they auction it to reduce their loss. You are still responsible for the balance on the car, called a 'deficiency balance.' I can eliminate your liability for the entire deficiency balance. Remove the risk of lawsuits and garnishments by filing a Chapter 7. Stop Garnishments A Chapter 7 is one of the most effective ways to immediately stop garnishments. Garnishments can diminish your hard-earned income making it nearly impossible for you to afford basic necessities. By filing a Chapter 7 and stopping the garnishment, you will be able to use your income for more important necessities in life and start saving for your family's future. End Lawsuit/License Suspensions Many states have imposed laws that allow the state to suspend your license if you failed to maintain liability insurance at the time of the accident. I can help you get your license reinstated if it is suspended due to an uninsured car accident or unpaid parking tickets. I can also stop lawsuits related to those car accidents. If you are being sued, and you own a home, I strongly urge you to speak with a me immediately about filing a bankruptcy. A bankruptcy will stop a lawsuit immediately and prevent your creditors from placing a lien on your home or garnishing your hard-earned wages. Rebuild Your Credit One of the most common concerns that I hear from clients has to do with the stigma related to bankruptcy. A basic characteristic of human nature is that people are afraid of things with which they are not familiar. Do not count out bankruptcy as an option until you have taken a short time to get educated on the subject. The stigma against debtors has greatly diminished over the last 20 years, and there is no indication that debtors will be treated less favorably in the future. In fact, the ability to reestablish your credit after a bankruptcy is better than it has ever been before. Bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for up to 10 years, but you can start reestablishing your credit immediately. First, let me define credit. Credit is your ability to borrow money. Many lenders determine whether or not to lend you money by examining your debt to income ratio; how much outstanding debt you have compared to your income. Remember that the reason that your credit is poor right now is because you have so much outstanding debt. Ask yourself, who would you rather loan money to; the person who has $20,000 in credit cards and could file a bankruptcy at any time, or the person who has already filed bankruptcy, has no remaining debt, and could not file another bankruptcy for another six years. Many of my clients are able to purchase a vehicle on financing the day they receive their bankruptcy discharge. Often times you will pay a percentage point or two higher than a person with unblemished credit, but ask yourself how low of an interest rate would you be able to get in your present situation. You should be able to finance a home within two years after receiving a bankruptcy discharge, as long as you can provide a minimum down payment and show the ability to make the monthly mortgage payment. Many consumer debtors receive credit card solicitations within months of receiving a bankruptcy discharge. We caution you against rumors of the bankruptcy stigma that you may hear from friends or family, who may not possess the knowledge of bankruptcy law necessary to give legal advice. They may have your best interests in mind, but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Keep Your House, Car and Personal Belongings- Reaffirming Mortgage lenders and automobile finance companies are usually more than happy to keep accepting your current monthly payments both before and after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This is called reaffirming your debt. They are in the finance business to make money, not to repossess your property. When the finance company reaffirms the debt, they have the comfort of knowing that you have no other outstanding debts, you cannot file bankruptcy for another six years, and they can continue to collect the principal plus interest under the original loan agreements. I will make all of the arrangements for you to reaffirm your debts on your home, car or other household goods that you are financing. Many credit card companies are also willing to reaffirm your debt with them and reinstate your line of credit after the bankruptcy. Although I am happy to arrange reaffirmation agreements on these debts as well, we also caution our clients to avoid getting back into the credit card trap. Law Changes Pressured by the multimillion dollar lobbying effort of credit card companies, Congress is currently considering passing a new bankruptcy law that would severely limit your ability to eliminate debt. The credit card companies have hired some of the most prestigious lobbying firms in the country to pressure our legislators in Washington. The law change could go into effect some time this year. The law affects your ability to get relief under both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Under Chapter 7, the new law would prevent you from eliminating your debt if you made at least the median U.S. income and could afford to pay back only 20% of your debt in installments of at least 50$ per month over at least a 5 year repayment plan. What is worse is that the Government would determine your ability to make these monthly payments using IRS standards for household expenses, which in many cases are not realistic, and do not consider individual circumstances. Under the present law, honest people like you can completely eliminate credit card debt, medical bills and personal loans, without having to pay back the creditors over a five-year period. If you are presently in a position where you feel that you may not have the ability to repay your debt, now is the time to consult with me. I recognize that my clients are honest people who have either suffered a personal catastrophe or have become over-extended over a number of years and are using our services only as a last resort. Human nature is to procrastinate in acting to solve unpleasant circumstances. Do not delay. Your rights may be severely restricted in the near future. Consider the following: if you had a drastic reduction in income, but your expenses have not changed, under the new law you could be forced to repay your debt. If you suffered an illness or injury, you may be forced into a five- year repayment plan just because you could not afford health insurance in the first place. If you were in a car accident and were uninsured because you could not afford car insurance, you would be forced to pay 100% of your expendable income each month into a court-ordered repayment plan, or suffer garnishments and other creditor action against you. If you are going through a divorce and household income has been cut in half, under the new law you may no longer be eligible for a discharge of your debts. Do not delay. Act now, before it's too late.

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