Are you on the fence about filing for bankruptcy? Perhaps these bullet points will help clarify a few aspects of a bankruptcy filing. If a free consultation would help, please request one—we would love to speak with you.
There is a lot of information on the internet. Unfortunately, myths and negative stereotypes can perpetuate a fear around a subject like bankruptcy. The real cost to this is that people who desperately need and deserve it, may not get the head start that bankruptcy provides. We hope the list below helps you make a decision about your finances.
- Your financial and emotional well-being are worth more than anything else. When you file bankruptcy, you are restored to a place of sanity. This is true both financially and mentally. Not only will your bank account bounce back, but you will bounce back as an individual. You will feel hope again, and see a bright future ahead for yourself and your family.
- You deserve freedom from the chains of unsecured debt. Unsecured debt (credit cards, medical bills, etc.) is a debt you owe individually, but which is not attached to your property. As that debt accumulates, the monthly carrying cost of that debt eats into even the most significant income. The result is you end up paying excessive fees and penalties on debt which continues to grow. Bankruptcy allows you to stop moving backward, and immediately leap forward.
- You will feel like you’ve been given a raise. We’ve written more extensively about this HERE. When you eliminate the burden of hundreds of dollars a month going to unsecured creditors, it feels like you’ve been given a promotion at work, complete with an increase in pay. All of a sudden, you have money for normal things again—healthcare, car repairs, family outings, and gifts for friends and loved ones.
- You can save your home from bankruptcy. By filing Chapter 7 you can relieve yourself of the burden of paying unsecured debt, which allows you to focus on your mortgage. Or, if you’re facing foreclosure, you can file Chapter 13 to force the lender to give you time to catch up on your mortgage payments.
- Old tax debt will be addressed. The rules regarding tax debt require an analysis of each particular case; however, there are a few general rules. If your tax debt is three years old or older, and you filed your tax returns on time, bankruptcy will eliminate that tax debt. If your tax debt is more recent than three years old, you can still choose to file a Chapter 13 and pay the debt on a 5-year plan instead of being forced to repay at the IRS or Department of Revenue’s pace.
- You can keep your car and home in bankruptcy. Our firm will analyze your finances with you, and help you determine If you can file bankruptcy and keep your home and cars. This depends on the available bankruptcy exemptions. In almost all cases, our clients are able to do so. In cases where a vehicle loan is older than three years old and the car is worth less than the loan balance, there may even be an option to ‘strip’ the additional loan balance through bankruptcy. This means bankruptcy allows you to keep the car, and only pay on the debt to the extent of the blue book value of the car.
- The process is easy. Our firm will help you gather the documentation you need in order to file a successful bankruptcy. The filing is done electronically through the federal bankruptcy court website, and you will attend one hearing with your attorney. There are rarely surprises, and most hearings take five minutes or less. That’s it. Five minutes answering basic questions about assets and income.
- Nobody else will know about it. Well, for the most part. The fact is, the bankruptcy filing is a public record. However, even attorneys have to perform a special search at the courthouse or have electronic access to the bankruptcy court records in order to find out if you have filed for bankruptcy. Unless they are creditors, or you are co-debtors together, your friends, family, and neighbors have no reason to know you filed.
- Your credit score will recover much faster than you think. We have written extensively about credit scores over the years. We have also stayed in touch with our clients after bankruptcy. We are amazed and pleased at the stories our clients tell us after bankruptcy. Clients leave the bankruptcy hearing excited to start a new financial life. Six months to a year later, they report back to us how wonderfully things are going for them. Quite often, two years after filing, they call our office to tell us they are buying a new home and their mortgage broker needs one document from us. Your life after bankruptcy is exciting again.
- It is a smart ‘business’ decision. Setting your emotions aside and making the smartest financial decision for yourself and your family will change your life. View it as a financial decision. Your bankruptcy filing is an investment in yourself and your family. And it is one that begins to pay off immediately.
Speak With A Charlotte Bankruptcy Lawyer Today
If you would like to speak with a bankruptcy lawyer who cares about your financial future, call us. You can reach us at 704.749.7747. Or, you can click HERE for a free consultation—just tell us when you would like us to reach out to you. With each step you take, you are one step closer to financial freedom.