Know
the difference
between Bankruptcies! A
Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13?
What types of Bankruptcy Plans are available - and which one do I qualify for?
There are four types of Bankruptcy plans available;
two for individuals and two for
business. The type of Plan
you use will depend upon what
your qualifications and financial
requirements are.
Many may consider a document service when facing a bankruptcy
decision. Unfortunately, going
to a document service without
benefit of a qualified attorney
is much like having a heart
operation using a carpenter.
Before making the mistake of
your life, consider the pitfalls
of proceeding by yourself with
only prepared documents to assist.
In addition - there's price. If you purchase
bankruptcy documents from a document service and later need
an attorney, you could have paid $199 to $299 too much. And
if that service offers legal services for its customers who
need help with their documents, you may be paying more than
the going standard industry rate in form preparation and legal
representation combined.
Our law firm brings nearly 30 years of legal experience in
bankruptcy matters to the table. The first appointment is FREE.
To arrange for an appointment you may call us at 402-734-0635,
FORM to
schedule an appointment.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a process provided for under United
States Federal Law by which you
are entitled to a fresh start.
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy may eliminate many kinds of unsecured debt. Some
examples are credit card balances;
medical bills; most personal
loans; judgments resulting from car accidents; and deficiencies
on repossessed vehicles.
In addition to resolving your debt issues, you usually can
keep all of your property. As
long as your car and mortgage
payments are and remain current, and there
is no significant equity in you property, there should be
no problem making the arrangements
for you to reaffirm the
debt. Keep your home, keep your
car, keep your personal belongings,
but eliminating your debt is
our number one goal.
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 our law firm to represent
you. Upon retaining our services,
we provide you with a special
telephone number so that you
can refer your creditors to
us. We 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'. Our
office 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.
Our office can help you get
your license reinstated if
it is suspended due to an uninsured
car accident or unpaid parking
tickets. Our attorneys can also
stop lawsuits related to those
car accidents.
End Lawsuits If you are being sued, and you own a home, we strongly urge
you to speak with a Law Centre
representative 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.
Lower Your Car Payments The staff at the Law Centre
offer two courses of action to
lower your car payment. First,
in some instances we can use
a Chapter 7 redemption to lower
your payment. Many people are
forced into bankruptcy because
a loan company has over-financed
a vehicle. A high car payment
can make it impossible for
you to afford to pay even your
month to month expenses. Using
the redemption process, we
can force a creditor to accept a payoff on your
vehicle for only the value
of the vehicle. We will even
arrange for you to obtain new
financing for the redemption
on your vehicle.
For instance, if you owe $27,000 on a vehicle that is only
worth $12,000, we will force
the existing finance company
to accept a redemption of $12,000
as a payoff on the vehicle and
arrange the financing for you
on the $12,000 balance. Many
attorneys do not offer this valuable
service. We can reduce
your vehicle payment, save you
thousands of dollars on the vehicle
and eliminate your other debts
along the way. This is just another
way that that our office
uses the most aggressive means
possible to improve your financial
situation and work to get you
the fresh start you need.
We can also use Chapter 13 to reduce your car payment
and consolidate other debts that
you cannot afford to pay. In
a Chapter 13, we will reduce
the total amount you pay the finance company so
that you only pay the value of
the vehicle plus interest. Any
money owed to the finance company
above that amount can be paid, in most circumstances,
at a percentage on the dollar.
Even if the car has already been
repossessed, we may be able to force the finance company
to return the vehicle and then
reduce your car payment. Time
is of the essence, however, so
act now. We can also consolidate
any other outstanding bills
so that you can pay those debts
at a percentage on the dollar
as well.
Rebuild Your Credit
One of the most common concerns
that we 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 past 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 us 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 our 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. Once you are a client, you are a client
for life. We will
not abandon our clients once
they have received their discharge from the court. This is
part of our commitment to you to provide
quality legal representation
for a fair fee.
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. Speak
with one of our experienced
attorneys to make sure what you
are hearing is the truth.
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.
Our office 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 we are 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 one of our attorneys. We recognize that our
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. Currently, our
office can still help people
in all of these circumstances.
Do not delay. Act now, before
it's too late.
Many of the proposed changes discussed in this site could
very well be law in the next
6 months. Do not delay. Think
carefully about the potential
urgency with which you must act.
The attorneys at the Law Centre
can help you now.
Low Fees
Once you have found an experienced
bankruptcy attorney with whom
you are comfortable, be sure
his fee is fair. The Law Office
of Patricia Geringer provides
you with very fair fees and
gives you the client, a choice
of several different payment
plans to fit your individual needs.
If you need your case filed
quickly due to a garnishment,
foreclosure or threat of repossession
we may be able to file your
case almost immediately and
offer you a payment plan tailored
to your situation. In some
circumstances, we may be able
to provide you with the
official court protection you
need by filing your case before
being paid our entire fee.
We offer a very low flat fee that can be paid off in installments
over several months. Our office
can provide you with a range
of fair fees right over the phone.
We guarantee not to exceed the
fee range you are quoted. And
remember there are no hidden attorneys
fees in that price. Under this
payment plan you can hire us
with as little as $110 and any
balance will be spread out in
a flexible payment plan.
Chapter 13 is an interest-free debt repayment plan through
which you can consolidate your
debts and make payments on your
existing debt over a three to
five year period. While in a
chapter 13 debt repayment plan,
your creditors can not collect
from you, and the creditors are
required by Federal Court order
to adhere to the terms of the
approved plan.
One very important thing to remember about Chapter 13 is that
you must be working or have a
consistent source of income necessary
for the repayment plan to be
approved by the Bankruptcy Court.
Not only must you be able to pay
for your monthly living expenses,
but you must also be able to
make payments to the court in
order to consolidate your debts.
Debts which are generally consolidated
in a chapter 13 are mortgage
arrears, balances on vehicle
loans, student loans, credit
card debts and other unsecured
debts. All outstanding debts
must be included in the Chapter 13 consolidation.
Read below to find out more detailed information about the
benefits of Chapter 13:
Stop Foreclosure Immediately
If your home is presently in
foreclosure, a Chapter 13 filing will stop the foreclosure
any time prior to the sale, and allow you to repay your mortgage
arrears through your Chapter 13. You will still be obligated
to make all future mortgage payments directly to the mortgage
company, but they may not foreclose to collect any outstanding
mortgage payments.
If the "repo" man is looking for your car, a Chapter
13 will also stop the finance
company from repossessing your car. The past due payments and
the entire balance on your vehicle
loan will be consolidated into
the Chapter 13, which you will pay off over the next three
to five years. The vehicle finance
company can no longer repossess
your car, and you will no longer have to make a payment directly
to the finance company. Only
one payment is made, and that
is to the Chapter 13 trustee. Under certain circumstances we
can even recover your vehicle
after repossession and consolidate
Consolidate Student Loans
Although you may not eliminate
student loans in a Chapter 7,
you can consolidate them, with
your other bills, in a Chapter
13 and stop collection action
against you. Our office can
stop the collection action and garnishments
related to student loan debts
and consolidate
your bills so that you may repay
them in a plan that is feasible
for you.
Protect Cosigners
Your cosigners receive the same
protection that you receive under Chapter 13. Through a Chapter
13, we will protect your cosigners from collection activity,
and the creditors must wait to be paid through the Chapter
13. So, if you friend or relative cosigned on your vehicle,
and you are having trouble affording the payments, we can put
your remaining balance inside a Chapter 13.
Beware of Refinancing
If you have equity in your home,
you can file a Chapter 13, protect your equity, and repay your
mortgage arrears over as long as three years. Refinancing or
taking out a second mortgage may just create an additional
mortgage payment that you cannot afford, instead of repaying
your mortgage arrears through a Chapter 13.
Why eat up your equity with another
mortgage? You should explore all of your options, and make
sure you contact us along the way so we may advise you of your
legal rights. When you have quality legal representation, you
become knowledgeable about your rights, and become less vulnerable
to people trying to take advantage of you in a time of distress.
Please remember that we offer a free consultation. Explore
Chapter 13 as an alternative to a high-interest rate equity
loan against your home.
Law Change
Under Chapter 13 the new law's
impact is just as severe. Currently
under Chapter 13, Our office
can prevent foreclosures and
repossessions by consolidating
your outstanding mortgage arrears
and car note allowing you to
repay these debts over three
to five years, while under
the courts protection. The new
law would pay credit cards
and medical bills ahead of
your mortgage arrears and car
note, therefore increasing
Chapter 13 consolidation payments,
making it easier for the banks
to foreclose on your home or
repossess your vehicle, and
keeping honest debtors in bankruptcy
for five to seven years. You
may no longer be able to prevent
a foreclosure or repossession
after the law change. Act now,
before it's too late. Call402-734-0635
(Toll Free - 1-855-734-1911)
to speak with an attorney
about how the law change could
affect you.
