When you first begin to fall behind on bills, it may be a temporary situation due to a month with extra expenses or decreased income. But if one month turns into two (or more) and you’re scrambling to keep up, you may be faced with some hard choices. It’s important to explore all your options for dealing with debt, such as cutting your budget, negotiating with creditors, or even selling property to free up some money. But what if you’ve done everything possible and there still isn’t enough money to take care of your basic expenses? You may want to consider bankruptcy. I’m here to talk with you about your situation and offer some solutions, but you’ll also want to make sure you plan the timing of your bankruptcy. By being strategic, you may save yourself money and be able to keep more of your property.
Financial Planning
Sometimes people know that bankruptcy is the best way to deal with their debt, but need to delay filing while they save up for filing and attorney fees. I’m glad to offer you a free, one-hour consultation, and when we meet, we’ll decide on which chapter to file. You’ll leave our meeting with a comprehensive list of tasks that you can begin working on before filing. One task will be to complete your online pre-filing credit counseling course, which will give you the opportunity to take a close look at your budget and to determine if bankruptcy truly is the best solution for you.
As soon as you file, the automatic stay begins, which not only means that creditors may not contact you to collect debt, but you are also no longer required to make payments. Even before you file, any payments you make on credit cards or medical bills immediately before filing are wasted. That money could be redirected to saving for filing or to keep up with your mortgage or car payments. Additionally, the court could attempt to take some payments back to repay other creditors.
Timing
When you file bankruptcy, only debts that you had at that time will be included, so you’ll want to strategically plan when you file. If you’re in the middle of medical treatment, you may want to postpone filing until you’re finished and have received all your bills so that all that debt can be discharged in bankruptcy. Be aware that you may not make large purchases on your credit card right before filing. If you do, this could be considered bankruptcy fraud, which is a serious offense.
We’ll work together to preserve as much of your property as possible. Selling or giving away property prior to filing bankruptcy in order to avoid it being seized could also be considered fraud.
If you’re thinking about moving out of state as you deal with your financial troubles, talk to me first for advice. You’ll either need to file with enough time for the case to be resolved before moving, or put off filing until you’ve moved to your new state and established residency there. Many states have a waiting period before you can file bankruptcy.
Ask For Help
Open communication and asking questions will help your bankruptcy to go smoothly and will also protect your property. If you’re uncertain about how to prepare for bankruptcy, just give me a call so that we can come up with a plan together.