A few years ago, I was in a pretty serious car accident. During the aftermath, I became really familiar with a lot of different types of lawyers. I worked with personal injury lawyers, insurance lawyers, and many others. Perhaps the most important, though, was the estate planning lawyer. I was really young, and neither my wife or I had thought about starting a will. But the accident kind of scared us into it. What would happen if one of us were to die? Even when still in the hospital, I was working with the lawyer to draw up a will. Now, I have some peace and security about what the future will be like if something should happen to me. And I have a lot of experience working with various types of lawyers! The accident was kind of a blessing in disguise in that way.
A bankruptcy attorney is one of the best possible resources at your disposal when it comes to dealing with insurmountable debt. This type of attorney can help you figure out which type of bankruptcy is most appropriate for your situation and get bill collectors to stop contacting you.
Bankruptcy Types
One of the biggest ways in which this type of attorney can assist you is by looking at all of your debts and finances in order to recommend a specific type of bankruptcy filing for you. The two most common types of bankruptcy that an attorney will recommend for an individual are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.
Your lawyer may recommend a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing if you would rather not lose any of your property. The reason for this is that when you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you are still going to be paying back all of your creditors, you will just be making lower monthly payments and paying an overall lower amount of debt.
In addition, you will not be paying the creditors directly, but the bankruptcy court. Since your creditors will still be receiving some payment, they are not able to seize any of your assets in most cases. However, this bankruptcy filing is only available if the bankruptcy court and attorney believe that your income is sufficient to cover your basic living expenses and the payments.
Your attorney can also recommend a Chapter 7 bankruptcy if you want to simply wipe away as many of your debts as possible and start over. This filing will wipe out most debts, but it does have the downside of requiring that you give up some of your assets.
For example, if you own multiple vehicles, all but one of them can be seized and sold to compensate your creditors. In addition, the bankruptcy court can order you to surrender any savings, investments, and tax returns you have received. However, this can often be worth it when you consider that you can potentially be completely debt-free in a matter of months.
Stop Bill Collectors
A bankruptcy attorney is also a fantastic resource if you want to get bill collectors to stop contacting you. This is possible because bankruptcy laws require that all collection activity cease as soon as your creditors have received notices informing them of your bankruptcy filing. In most cases, the creditors will stop collection activities immediately.
However, if your creditors continue contacting you, you can simply refer them to your attorney who is the only person they are permitted to contact about your debts, aside from the bankruptcy court. If they continue contacting you, your attorney can help you take legal action against them.
For more information, check out websites like http://www.tblakelaw.com.
Share4 October 2015
