Bankruptcy 2

The Truth About Bankruptcy
by Reed Allmand

Bankruptcy can be caused by many factors including the following:
- Loss of a job
- Illness of a spouse or child
- Divorce
- Poor money management

Indicators that filing for bankruptcy may help you:

- Living paycheck to paycheck
- Routinely paying your bills late
- Routinely overdrawing your checking account
- All of your credit cards are maxed out
- Behind on mortgage or car payments

A few benefits of filing for bankruptcy are:
- Psychologically regaining control of your life
- Preventing calls from Creditors and Bill Collectors
- Restructure Secure Debt

Financial stress and ignoring financial problems can cause the following to happen:
- Constantly Harassment from Creditors
- Collection Agency or Banks could potentially sue you.
- Defaulting on a home mortgage = foreclosure
- Defaulting on an auto loan = repossession

Charges incurred by ignoring financial charges include:
- Attorney fees
- Debt counseling fees
- Payday Loan fees
- Auto title loan fees

Ignoring financial problems can results in:

- Foreclosure on your home
- Repossession of personal property and assets
- Garnishment of wages

Filing for Bankruptcy Can Provide a Fresh Start
- Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
-Discharges most unsecured debt
- Candidates must pass the Means Test, which includes:

- Qualification #1: Debtors must have an annual median income less than the state median income for a family of the equivalent size

- Qualification #2:
- Debtor’s income must be greater than median family income,
-Debtor must pay a portion of unsecured debt
- If debtor’s monthly expenses don’t require all available income, then debtor must pay a $100/month for six years into a Chapter 13 plan.

What is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?
- Debt consolidation plan that allows debtor to restructure debt and pay back in 3 to 5 years.
- Debtor must have enough income to cover all monthly expenses and pay into a Chapter 13 plan.

Several myths about Bankruptcy include the following examples:
- Bankruptcy will hurt my credit for 10 years
- Everyone will know I filed bankruptcy
-I cannot filed bankruptcy because of BAPCPA
- I am a bad person for filing bankruptcy
- I can pick and choose what to include in my bankruptcy
-It’s hard to file bankruptcy
- I will never be able to own property again
- I will lose everything I own

Other myths about bankruptcy include:
- My spouse and I must file bankruptcy together
- I can’t get rid of back taxes by filing bankruptcy
- I can only file bankruptcy once
- I can never get credit again
- Only losers file bankruptcy
- Creditors can still harass me after I file bankruptcy
- Filing bankruptcy causes more family trouble and divorce

How do I know what attorney to choose when filing for bankruptcy?
- Hire an attorney referred by another attorney

- Hire an attorney referred from the State Bar

Remember: A good attorney will provide you information in preparation for the consultation.

When consulting a bankruptcy attorney, consider the following questions:
- Have many bankruptcy cases do you file each year?
- How many cases have you successfully taken to discharge?
- What percentage of your Chapter 13 cases get confirmed?

Also find out:
- What bankruptcy associations the attorney belong to?
- Will the attorney personally handle my case or will the bulk work be done by a paralegal?
- How often will the attorney communicate with me about the status of my case?

Be aware of the following after hiring an attorney:
- Retainer Agreement
- Interview/Case Evaluation
- Review of Documentation
- Pre-Bankruptcy Counseling
- Analysis of Legal Issues
- Review of Auto and Home Owners Insurance Policies
- Draft, Review, File the Petition
- Serve Chapter 13 Plan
- Pending Litigation

The Allmand & Lee Difference
- Allmand & Lee understand the average person needs a bankruptcy attorney

- Allmand and Lee’s priority is to make sure clients benefit from their services and receive a fresh start
- Allmand & Lee have a high success rate and a wealth of bankruptcy case experience

- Allmand & Lee are committed to helping as many clients as they can

The Allmand & Lee Difference
- Over 20 years of consumer bankruptcy experience

- Offers free phone consultation

- Free online case evaluations

For more information on how Allmand & Lee can help you call us today! 224-884-4176

Bankruptcy 2

by AllmandandLee on Dec 09, 2010

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