Author: Elizabeth Doren Paralegal at Geraci Law L.L.C.

1. Call us 7 am to 7 pm most days, and Saturday too. Try that with a “local” lawyer
2. 120 lawyers & paralegals. More than one person works on your case no extra fee
3. In Bankruptcy Court daily everywhere we practice: we don’t mind going to court for you!
4. Unmatched experience and education Our lawyers get more legal education than most
5. Largest consumer bankruptcy firm in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin
6. Cheaper or same often for price & service as “solo” or “budget” lawyers who do little bankruptcy
7. No hidden fees or charges We don’t tell you 1 thing on the phone and up the price later
8. No extras tacked on We do for free what some other lawyers charge hundreds extra for.
9. Nice Our attorneys and staff are some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet
10. Honest You deserve a square deal. If others say something else, we’ll tell you if it is true.
11. Ethical  Geraci Law attorneys adhere to the highest ethical standards to benefit YOU!
12. Peter Francis Geraci is our secret weapon! And yours, too.  No extra charge!
13. Debtor Education after filing for $25 – Only course taught by Peter Francis Geraci in S.
14. Free pre-filing non-bankruptcy educational course watch free at http://www.pfged.com
15. Fast Filing We can file same day, depending on your case and the deal we make.
16. Compare! Clients tell us all the time they like our firm, our service, our prices BETTER!

Geraci Law Attorney Wylie Mok at Geraci Law LLC, 4218 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago, IL 60641 Reports: A client had already seen another bankruptcy attorney about filing a Chapter 13 and was thoroughly unimpressed by his operation; he said this other attorney was unprofessional and did not seem interested in helping him fix his problems (old parking tickets and credit cards).  The client was desperate to get his case filed to avoid having his car booted, because then he would have no way to get to work.  To prove it, the client had everything we needed to file his case that day: we downloaded his tax returns, he paid the filing fee, and took the credit counseling class in the office while I drafted his petition.  Within two hours, we filed his case and notified the City.  The Client was very grateful for our help and said he should have come here first because “we don’t mess around.”

Geraci Law Attorney Mark Levine at Geraci Law LLC, 33 N. Roselle Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60194 Reports: One of our clients brought her 6 year-old granddaughter to her last office visit. Her granddaughter was practically bouncing off the walls because she was excited about a family vacation to Disneyworld tomorrow.  I have a 9-year-old daughter who LOVES Disneyworld herself, and we went there on vacation a few months ago.  I pulled up a chair after I met with client and had a nice conversation with client’s granddaughter about Disney.  The granddaughter absolutely loved it and asked me about the princesses.  I told her I personally met them all myself just a few months ago and that they’re all friends of mine now (a slight exaggeration perhaps), so I named a few for her, and she couldn’t believe that I knew their names.  Then she asked me if I am always at this office if the princesses want to know, and I said yes, you can go ahead and say hi to all the Disney princesses for me and you can tell them where I am if they need to get in touch with me.  She laughed.  When she left both she and her grandmother (our client) had big smiles on their faces and were not thinking or worrying about bankruptcy or any of that stuff.  They really appreciated not being “like a number.”

Geraci Law Attorney Frank Hernandez at Geraci Law LLC, 6537 1/2 W. Cermak Rd Suite B, Berwyn, IL 60402 Reports: I called these clients a few days after their court date to congratulate them on the Trustee’s No Asset report.  This was not an easy task as these clients owned business assets.  Attorney John Sadler did an incredible job listing these assets in detail on the petition.  The Trustee was very pleased and impressed.  The wife sobbed and said, “Gracias Abogado!”  She was in the hospital with her 52year-old husband, who had just had a heart attack.  She told her husband that I was on the phone, and though he could not talk to me in his delicate condition, she said that when he heard my voice his eyes glowed, his heart beat stabilized, and he smiled, despite the tubes in his mouth, from his hospital bed and found comfort and strength in knowing that we were thinking about him.

Geraci Law attorney Briana Czajka at Geraci Law LLC 55 E Monroe #3400, Chicago IL 60603 reports: After spending the day in court, I made a house call to a client who was unable to leave her house due to medical reasons. She needed to sign documents to convert her Chapter 13 case to a Chapter 7. The client’s income had decreased, and she could no longer afford to maintain her Chapter 13 payments. I went over all the paperwork with her, and had her sign off on the conversion. Her case has now been converted, and the Trustee has agreed to hold her meeting over the phone.

There are many exciting things happening at Geraci Law. Attorney Peter Francis Geraci will be advertising with the Chicago Cubs baseball team. When you see a play under review, you will see a Geraci Law LLC sponsorship. This year get out of debt with Geraci Law and hopefully next year a Chicago Cubs World Series victory!

Geraci Law is opening a new office on the Southside of Chicago. The office is located at 8658 S Cottage Grove in the Chatham Village Square Shopping Center. It’s simple to get to on the CTA #4 Bus and the CTA #87 Bus – it’s also just minutes away from I-94.

An Illinois woman came to the Geraci Law Evergreen Park location and met with Attorney Adam Suchy. Her car was impounded due to unpaid parking tickets.

She was referred to Peter Francis Geraci and Geraci Law by the man who towed her car! He offered to give her a ride and told her she should file a bankruptcy and gave Geraci Law information.

She met with Attorney Suchy on Friday and within one week she was driving her car again. Geraci Law attorneys are here to help! It’s the power of Geraci Law – we help the man impounding her car who in turn helped this Illinois woman.

If your car is impounded or your license is suspended for parking tickets – you will struggle to find a law firm with more experience.

Last week was Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. Protests held nationwide demanding check advance and payday loan reform. A variety of picket signs displayed sayings from “Beware of PayDay Loan Predators to “Shark Week 2014 Stop Payday Loan Sharks.”

A check advance loan generally is a high interest short term loan. Many providers require bank account information or payroll information for the loan to be approved.

If the short term loan is not paid, interest rates ranging from 30% to as high as 400%. Interest accrues and collection calls start. Your payroll department can be called to start voluntary withdrawals. If you are not working, your bank will process payment withdrawals. More often than not, you are left a negative bank balance and high bank fees.

It is easy to fall into a cycle where you borrow a payday loan and in order to pay it, you take out another one. You’re stuck in a vicious circle feeling like there is no way out. The great news is in majority of cases, bankruptcy can discharge your payday loan debt.

Do not let your fear of bankruptcy be the reason not to go back in the water. Bankruptcy can eliminate not only the payday loan debt but other unsecured like credit cards and medical bills. If you are choosing between buying groceries and paying the payday loan, please call Peter Francis Geraci and Geraci Law.

Over the last few weeks, newspapers printed articles regarding debt collection practices. One article gives advice as to how to ignore debt collectors. Advice ranged from pretending not to speak English to faking a family crisis. The reporters failed to give information how to actually STOP the calls.

Ignoring creditors can be a Band-Aid for a wound. You can delay the inevitable but ignoring is not a solution. If creditors cannot reach you, it’s possible to file a lawsuit and win a judgment against you.

Instead, you can file a bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 will STOP the phone calls. You can stop the phone from ringing and either eliminate or consolidate your debt.

An Illinois woman contacted Peter Francis Geraci and Geraci Law because her house was scheduled for sheriff sale in 5 days. She fell behind on the mortgage because she lost her job. Now, she’s back at work but her mortgage company refused to accept payment or modify the loan.

She met with Attorney Kristin Schindler at the Plainfield office. Attorney Schindler created a plan to file the case and reviewed the necessary documents. The following morning, she completed her credit counseling class and faxed documents to Geraci Law.

When the client was en route to the office, paralegal Mark Derose drafted the bankruptcy petition. Later that day, she met with Attorney Brent Ingram to finalize the case. The case was filed and the sale with stopped with days to spare.

Her mortgage company did not help her. She had no options. Now because of the great work of Geraci Law staff, she is able to live in her home and make an affordable payment to get current.

If you miss one month’s utility bill – you probably will not hear from the company. However, if you miss months and have a pile of past-due statements, you’re waiting for a shut off notice.

To stop a shut off, you need a significant percentage or the entire bill’s balance. If you do not have the balance, you’ll find yourself without electricity or gas. You could have lost your job, had a death in the family – the utility company does not care.

Instead, file a bankruptcy. Filing a bankruptcy will stop a utility shut off. You can keep the lights on and we can work out a payment plan for attorney fees. Peter Francis Geraci and Geraci Law Attorneys are here to help. If you are worried about a pending shut-off, call us.

Recently, I tried to schedule an appointment with my doctor. Monday was attempt number one – I called on a break (because office only open from 9:00-3:00 – Monday thru Friday) to be put on hold for 15 minutes before anyone answered.

Attempt number two, voicemail kicked on stating staff was at lunch. It was 10:30 a.m. It was then I truly appreciated Peter Francis Geraci and Geraci Law L.L.C. I called the office 800 phone number – within 1 ring, my call was answered.

You can always reach someone. Attorneys and paralegals are available to handle any issue. It does not matter if it’s scheduling an appointment or a complicated bankruptcy issue. We are available from 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. with hours on Saturday. The office is always open with evening and weekend hours by appointment.

When you consider bankruptcy, the attorney you file with is truly important. You do not want to talk to a voice mail. At Geraci Law, you only speak to a live person – an experienced live person with access to your file. Give us a call, my promise is you will not hear we are at lunch.

Everyone wants to know how much a bankruptcy costs. The simple answer is – we have no idea. Why would an experienced bankruptcy law firm with thousands of hours of experience not know?

Fees are based on your case and what is going on with your individual situation. Everyone has different circumstances. Geraci Law attorneys want to meet you to discuss what brought you to the point of bankruptcy. We determine fees by debt, income, and assets.

The best part of being a Geraci Law client is payment plans. Attorneys are able to mold a payment plan to fit your budget. We have filed cases from people with zero income to six-figure salaries. We file cases without fees being paid in full. We will figure out something for you to get out of debt. The great news is – it’s free to come in!

You meet with a Geraci Law attorney and get a free credit report. If we cannot help you, we can refer you to someone who can. There is no obligation and meeting with an experienced attorney can only help your family. Peter Francis Geraci and Geraci Law are here to help you! Just give us a call and we’ll find a time within your schedule to come in.