Is There a Right Time to File Bankruptcy?

The answer is YES! If you are in debt and need help, NOW is the time to call us! You will review options with an experienced Geraci Law attorney to figure out a solution to your debt problem.

Geraci Law LLC was founded by attorney Peter Francis Geraci. Geraci Law filed more bankruptcy cases by far than any other law firm in the U.S. in 2015, over 13,000. We have counselled well over 100,000 clients. We don’t know exactly how many, but we are now on file 635,000.

We only practice in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, with about 30 offices, and over 100 total attorneys and staff. We specialize in consumer bankruptcy. We know the rules. We are easy to talk to and are always on your side. We are sympathetic. We may accept our fees in installments, and our fees are reasonable. We are interested in your future, and will give you advice based on over 100,000 past and present clients we have represented in matters similar to yours.

Peter Francis Geraci has been practicing law since 1974.

He says, “I have tried many cases before both juries and judges. I have tried every kind of case from murder to paternity, from civil rights to work injuries, from paternity cases to automobile accidents. My last jury verdict was $6.5 million in a birth injury case, and I won the appeal and collected another $1.2 million in interest for my client.

Geraci Law LLC files over 10,000 bankruptcies every year. Some of my clients have done 2 bankruptcies with me already. Some of their grandparents were my clients!

Since my practice is now concentrated in bankruptcy work, the only other cases we handle are injury claims. We refer all other cases to competent lawyers who specialize in other areas. There is an advantage to concentrating in a particular area of law.”

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com. Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you. Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law? Geraci Law has 35,000 5-star reviews since November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

It’s a Free Hour to Change Your Life

Geraci Law offers FREE that’s right FREE consultations with our experienced bankruptcy attorneys.

Geraci Law offers FREE that’s right FREE consultations with our experienced bankruptcy attorneys. For no cost, you can review your debt, see if bankruptcy can be the solution to your debt problem. If we can’t offer you options, we’ll tell you why, and suggest some other solutions if we can.

Very few people talk about financial problems. Check out Chapter 2 of Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s “Complete Book on Bankruptcy” titled CHAPTER #2 Don’t be Embarrassed, Nervous, or Afraid

Most hear the B word and believe they will NEVER buy a house. That’s simply not true. Bankruptcy affords someone the fresh start to get on track to home ownership. Many see their credit scores INCREASE after filing.

It’s as simple as saying I need some help or I need my options. We’re happy to meet with you to try and figure it out.

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

Can I File Bankruptcy if I Have Co-Signers?

Read Chapter 17 of Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s “Complete Book on Bankruptcy” below or at https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/Book17.html.

Yes. And you can either discharge your obligation to both the creditor and the co-signer, or pay the creditor to protect your co-signer.

Talk to your co-signer. Perhaps they already filed a bankruptcy with Geraci Law and you don’t have to worry! Perhaps they need to and you can come in with them. You may want to pay that loan to protect your co-signer. Or, your co-signer might say, “Go ahead and file Chapter 7 and I will pay this one off for you” or “I filed bankruptcy myself, so don’t worry, I already got rid of this debt.”

You can also file Chapter 13 and pay a co-signed debt to protect your co-signer. You can file Chapter 7 and still pay the co-signed debt to protect the co-signer. Or you can file either and let the co-signed decide what to do if the creditor goes after them on their guarantee.

Whenever a lender wants a co-signer, they don’t trust the person that wants the loan. Therefore, someone has to agree that if the person who is getting the money does not pay, that the co-signer will make the debt good, and take up the payments.

If you are the person who signed to pay if your friend or relative didn’t you may complain if you are called upon to pay the loan that your friend or relative got. In fact, it may push you over the financial edge.

Therefore, if you have a lot of bills, and now have a problem because of a co-signer, you will want to include that co-signed loan in your list of bills when you come in for your first interview.

If you co-signed, you probably did not want to pay the other person’s loan. In a Chapter 7, you will discharge your liability for the loan. In a Chapter 13, you can set up a special class for co-signer loans, and pay them or not pay them, as you wish.

If other people co-signed for you, you may want to protect them. In a Chapter 7, you will probably want to pay loans that other people co-signed for you on, so that you are protecting your co-signers. Just keep on paying those loans, despite your Chapter 7, if you want to protect your co-signers.

In a Chapter 13, if you want to protect your co-signers, you can set up a special class of creditors for co-signer loans, and propose to pay the co-signer loans ahead of other loans.

Example: Tim works at the Post Office and has 3 co-signers for his credit union loan. The credit union is taking $200 per paycheck out of his check, and Tim has a car payment of $329 per month, and a bunch of other bills, so he needs debt relief.

The Geraci Law Chapter 7 or 13 Bankruptcy Solution: Tim files a Chapter 13 to pay his car and co-signer loan 100%, and can pay his other creditors after the car and co-signer loan are paid. He can also just get rid of all his debt in a Chapter 7, but continue paying the car loan and credit union loan. He will “reaffirm” the car loan, but will not sign a reaffirmation on the credit union loan. He will pay the regular payment on the credit union loan, re-authorizing his payroll deduction.

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

Don’t be Embarrassed, Nervous or Afraid!

Below is from Chapter 2 of Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s, “Complete Book on Bankruptcy.” Read below or the rest of the book @ https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/

CHAPTER #2 Don’t be Embarrassed, Nervous, or Afraid

Everyone tells me they are embarrassed, nervous, and afraid to get out of debt. So read our 30,000 reviews and find out what Geraci Law has done to make their life better. Start with the reviews.

Now, let’s take embarrassed first. No one talks about money. They talk about everything else, but in America, money is a guilty secret. So the first thing you have to realize is that almost 1 million people a year file bankruptcy. That’s right. It’s real common. Are you 40 years old? In the last 40 years, about 40 million people have filed bankruptcy. So don’t be embarrassed. Donald Trump has put more than one of his projects in bankruptcy.

Second is nervous. Log on to infotapes.com and read real life stories about people just like you and how their Chapter 7 or 13 worked out for them. Get educated. Then you won’t be nervous. Take my free online 20 minute credit counseling course. Or take my 2 hour course for $25. Too much debt is bad. It can actually affect your health. Bad debt is like a bad marriage, or a bad cold. It can make you feel miserable. If you get out of debt, your credit score goes up, and you can start saving for a house or car you want.

Third is afraid. Don’t be. At Geraci Law, we will not file a bankruptcy for you unless we think it will make your life better. So, once you realize you’re in good hands, that a million people just like you file every year, and you know your credit score and savings will go up, you will be ready to get some good advice.

Why would anyone be happy about having to file a bankruptcy? The answer is, if there were no bankruptcy laws, you would have no way out of financial trouble.

The bankruptcy laws, and how they can help you, are not known to the general public. When a person finds out that they can get out of debt, and start fresh, without giving up any possessions, they are generally very happy. No one files a bankruptcy case unless they have to. If you have the money to pay your bills, pay them!

Why would you be happier if you kept your house, kept your vehicle, kept your pension, kept your household furnishings, and had no debt, and could save money each month for retirement? Why wouldn’t you?

Realize that if you have $20,000.00 in credit card debt at 18%, and just make the minimum payments at 2.5% of the balance, never using the card again, it will take you 37 years to pay it off. Go to our website, http://www.infotapes.com, and follow the links to msn.money.com, and bankrate.com. You will find useful financial calculators on those sites. Plug in your debt, and see that if you can pay only minimums, you have a life sentence of debt. If you have a lawsuit, getting garnished can eat 15 to 25% of your take home pay, or snatch your entire bank account.

Why should you have a life sentence of debt? Be happy! Don’t worry! If you can only pay minimums, collectors are calling, you have to charge necessities, you may be better off filing Chapter 7 and getting a discharge of that debt, or Chapter 13, which is a no-interest debt repayment. You could take that $500 a month and repay your debts in full with no interest over less than 36 months.

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

Tax Debt & Bankruptcy

There are so many different kinds of taxes and the law is so complicated, that the best answer is: sometimes. Bankruptcy is about the only law more powerful than the IRS.

It’s that time of year – the start of tax filing season. Attorney Peter Francis Geraci answers your questions about tax debt and bankruptcy. Read Chapter 33 below or in PFG’s “Complete Book on Bankruptcy” @ https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/book33.html

CHAPTER #33 Can I Get Rid of Taxes with Bankruptcy?

Sometimes, if they are income taxes, you filed a truthful return on time, you just owed the tax and could not pay it, and more than 3 years have passed since the return was due (usually April 15 following the tax year), and the taxes have been assessed and more than 240 days have passed…

There are so many different kinds of taxes and the law is so complicated, that the best answer is: sometimes. Bankruptcy is about the only law more powerful than the IRS. Usually, only income taxes can be discharged. Sales or withholding tax cannot.

In order for income taxes to be dischargeable, you must have

1. filed your return on time, and

2. the date you filed your return must be more than 3 years ago. (April 15 is due date but can be April 16 or 18 because of weekends some years)

If your return was filed late, you need only wait two years after it was filed to have your income taxes eligible for discharge. If you didn’t file a return, your income taxes are not eligible for discharge.

If your income taxes do not fall under the above time periods, or if you did not file a return, you may be eligible to force a repayment plan on the IRS, if you have sufficient regular income, by proposing a Chapter 13 Debt Repayment Plan. In a Chapter 13, you can pay past due income taxes over as long as 5 years, with no further interest or penalty, in most cases, and the IRS cannot take collection action during the Chapter 13 Plan. Of course, you must pay any future income taxes on time, and you must file any tax returns not previously filed, as a condition of having your Chapter 13 approved.

There are many other kinds of taxes, and special rules apply to all of them. I make no guarantee that any tax is dischargeable, because of the complexity of the rules, and the policy of not making most taxes dischargeable. We list them on the petition, however, notify the IRS and proper governmental entities, and then if the tax is not discharged, it is possible to work out a repayment plan based on your bankruptcy budget which we prepare.

Problem: Donald and Regina filed their 1982 and 1983 returns on time, but didn’t have the money to pay the $4500 tax due on Donald’s part time job, and Regina’s unemployment money. They also owe $9,000 in unsecured credit. Now they are both working full time, but there is an IRS levy taking 80% on Donald’s check.

The Peter Francis Geraci Chapter 7 or 13 Solution: It appears that they can start fresh with no debt by filing a Chapter 7. Or, they can pay their debt over as long as 60 months, and their payment will be about $250 per month, including all costs.

Note: Unpaid income taxes can build up interest and penalties rapidly, so Chapter 13 cases are great for many tax debts.

Trust fund taxes, such as employee withholding amounts that were never paid to the government, are not dischargeable, although they can be paid back in full in a Chapter 13.

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

When Do I Stop Paying My Creditors?

Generally, you will stop paying all other creditors, such as charge cards, as soon as you make the decision to file a bankruptcy petition.

Read Chapter 23 of Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s, “Complete Book on Bankruptcy” below. For more, visit https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/

Generally, you will stop paying all other creditors, such as charge cards, as soon as you make the decision to file a bankruptcy petition. Whether you are doing a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13, there are some bills you will always want to pay. These are personal expenses, such as rent, food, school tuition and current utilities.

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, generally the only bills other than regular living expenses that you will pay are for mortgages or cars that you want to keep, or for non-dischargeable debts such as government insured student loans or loans or grants from non-profit schools, first due less than 7 years ago. You may also want to pay collateralized loans, such as furniture and electronics purchases.

In a Chapter 13 debt repayment plan, you are proposing to pay your creditors by making one payment to the Chapter 13 trustee, who then divides it up between the creditors. Therefore, you pay no one individually, or “outside the plan,” because your Chapter 13 payment pays them. The only creditor that is generally paid “outside” the Chapter 13 Plan is a mortgage on real estate.

If I am representing you, I will advise you on which creditors to continue paying, and which not to. Generally, you never continue paying charge cards and similar debts, but this is a complicated area and is best left to your attorney to advise you.

Problem: Lou and Wendy can pay their car payment this month, but due to higher rent, can’t pay their credit cards, or the IRS taxes due for Lou’s side jobs from last year.

The Peter Francis Geraci Chapter 7 or 13 Solution: Perhaps they can file a Chapter 13, which may pay all their bills for the same amount as their car payment; the car will be paid for by the Chapter 13 payment, first, before other creditors. They can use the car payment money for their first Chapter 13 payment. Or, they may want to continue making their car payment, stop paying all the credit cards, and just pay down their IRS debt, doing a Chapter 7.

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

CHAPTER #9 What Does Bankruptcy Cost?

A lot less than paying debt that you can’t pay.

Read Chapter 9 of Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s “The Complete Book on Bankruptcy” and more @ https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/

A lot less than paying debt that you can’t pay. Anyone can come up with $900 or $1000 to put down on a Chapter 7, and pay the rest over time. Anyone can come up with the court costs to file a Chapter 13, and pay the rest in with their Chapter 13 payment.

Every lawyer charges exactly the same for Chapter 13, so don’t bother shopping for fees for Chapter 13. Why? In almost every court, the court rules provide for a standard fee for all services. So, it’s not the fee that you use to pick out an attorney.

Same with Chapter 7. Some people think everyone with a law license is the same. That’s why the jails are full. Lots of people who don’t know how to pick a decent attorney. People who file bankruptcy often have no confidence in themselves or their family or their budgets, and panic! They think, “I have to pay a big fee all at once and I have no money”.

If you panic, you might call every lawyer who advertises bankruptcy and say “How much is a bankruptcy”? If you actually get an answer to that, here is who you might probably be are talking to:

A lawyer who got fired or could not work with anyone so he paid $500 for a website design. He rents a desk in an office center, and has no employees, works from his cell phone, returns his calls you leave on voice mail while he is driving from traffic court to a real estate closing to a bankruptcy court meeting, the only 3 cases he has this week. “I will do your case for $800 come on in” he says. You say “don’t you want to know anything about me or what is involved before you tell me $800?” He says, “no, come on in, bring your money”

You show up and sure enough, it’s either a rented desk in “Armstrong Office Suites”, or it smells funny and not very professional. He is late. So you wait, he shows up and says “sorry, I was in Court” and brings you into his office. The place is a mess. He actually has a fax machine on his desk.

“Did you bring the $800?” he says. “Don’t you want to know anything about me or what is involved before you tell me $800?” you say for the 2nd time. (Oh, you also had to wait a week before he could “fit you in”.)

Anyway, he then tells you that instead of $800, because you have a house and car, he meant $800 to file, plus the court cost, and there will be additional costs if “anything goes wrong”.

You say, “whaaat? What do you mean, if anything goes wrong?” He says, “don’t worry, usually nothing usually wrong”! So much for the “UNKNOWN ATTORNEY”. But, if he gets your $800, he at least has his rent for the month.

At Geraci Law, we get a lot of people who have been elsewhere and are unhappy. Read our reviews. Some people focus on the attorney’s fee in choosing an attorney. My office gets calls from about a hundred people a year who have had Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 cases goofed up because they tried to save $100 on attorney fees.

Sometimes, in fact, regularly, we tell people NOT to file bankruptcy. That is why we have never “lost” a house or had any real “trouble”. So, one cost of a bankruptcy might be getting bad advice or bad representation by your attorney. The attorney’s fee doesn’t matter, since you can’t save much from one attorney to another.

So, bankruptcy is pretty cheap. If you had $20,000 to pay your creditors, you’d probably give it to them. If you could settle all your debt for $5000, you would. So why try to beat up your lawyer before you have all the facts in front of, by calling around to unknown lawyers to get them to tell you something on the phone? No smart lawyer will give you any real advice on the phone, much less quote you a firm fee for something they know nothing about.

Always get a free in office consultation. If you really want the cheapest lawyer in town, then go to the one who tells you $500 on the phone, and pray that you will be happy! You get what you pay for. At Geraci Law, we work with almost everyone, but $500 was a fee in 1975, not 40 years later in 2015. Every year, one of the “cheap” bankruptcy lawyers gets indicted or closes up, so watch out who you think is giving you a “cheap price”. The so-called “largest bankruptcy firm in the world”, “Macey & Aleman Legal Helpers” closed up suddenly in 2013 and did not refund fees to clients, who then filed claims in its bankruptcy for the $1400 or whatever fee they lost when the place shut its doors.

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

Debts from Divorce & Filing Bankruptcy

Nothing ruins a relationship like money problems. Here are some tips about how bankruptcy can help with divorce or child support.

Below is from Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s Infotapes, watch this and more @ https://www.infotapes.com/Bankruptcy/Infotapes

What Happens if I am Divorced or Pay Child Support?

Nothing ruins a relationship like money problems. Here are some tips about how bankruptcy can help with divorce or child support.

File Before You Divorce

If you are not divorced, consider getting your debt under control so it is not a serious issue. We help a lot of couples quit fighting over money, by filing Chapter 7 or 13. You can also take my court approved 2 hour debtor education course at http://www.pfged.com, and it might help you understand and manage your debt.

If you are in the middle of a divorce, ask your divorce attorney to refer you to Geraci Law for either a single filing bankruptcy, or a joint filing. Often, one spouse wants to stick the other with the debts. If that spouse files bankruptcy, it often eliminates the issue, especially if the other spouse is not joint on them.

Debt in Divorce Decrees

Be very, very careful about agreeing to pay debt in a marital settlement agreement. You might end up eliminating your right to discharge debts you agree to pay in a divorce. That is a very bad idea, especially if you have to pay support. You are better off discharging debt so you can use that money to pay support.

Court Ordered Support

Some kinds of court-ordered support in a marital settlement agreement is dischargeable in bankruptcy, and some is not.

If you are not married, and you are ordered to pay support for children, that obligation is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. But in a Chapter 13, you can repay child support arrears, and get protection from having your drivers’ or professional license suspended for unpaid support.

Protecting Rights in Bankruptcy

Why are cases with divorces and domestic support obligations so complicated? The legislature wanted to protect children and spouses from the effect of a bankruptcy discharge. In Chapter 13, domestic support obligations must be paid, and you can pay arrears ahead of other creditors. You must also certify that you are current on your domestic support obligation before the court issues a discharge in your case.

Always Consult an Attorney First

You should seriously consider hiring an experienced Geraci Law bankruptcy attorney. Why? Because when you have a domestic support obligation, there are different requirements for chapter 13. Domestic support obligations, attorney fees to the other spouse in most cases, and guardian ad litem fees, and property settlement obligations, are not dischargeable in Chapter 7.

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com

Bill Consolidation, Loan Modification, Credit Counseling, Debt Settlement Fraud Schemes

From Chapter 3 of Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s, “The Complete Book on Bankruptcy” read more @ https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/

This is an easy one. Because most stuff other than bankruptcy is fraudulent. That means someone somewhere, on the internet, or maybe in Russia, or maybe your own bank, wants your money, and will say anything to get it.

1. “bill consolidation” is usually a fraud scheme There is no way to “consolidate” all your bills into one lower payment you can afford, pay your vehicles and mortgage and tax debt first, and stop every single creditor from bothering you, adding late charges, or suing you. No way. None. Nada. Except for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Oh, there’s that word again “bankruptcy.”

2. “Loan modification” Fraud schemes like “Legal Helpers Loan Modification” just stole people’s money and disappeared with millions. Banks usually string you along for months and lose your paperwork, making things worse. Then all they do is take your 30 year loan and turn it into a 40 year loan to “get” you a lower payment. Great, now you’ll die before you pay them off and they’ll get your house back after collection mostly interest payments.

3. “Credit Counseling” Possibly the worst fraud. Some of them pose as law firms. Some are “lawyers” who really should be in jail. Being a lawyer makes them try to take as much as the first year’s payments up front as fees”. They usually last a year before getting indicted and put out of business.

4. “Debt settlement” Definitely the worst. Run, do not walk, as fast as you can from these skunks. Legal Helpers Debt Resolution” and others stole $50 million or more and faded into the night. Their imitators are still around, and so are the lawyers involved. They only lost their law licenses for a couple years. Nice payday on your money!

All these schemes play on your guilty, embarrassment and confusion. They can’t stop late fees, repossessions, lawsuits, foreclosures, license suspension, or anything else. So, beware of “bill consolidation, mortgage modifiers, debt settlement and credit counseling”. We usually see folks who have paid $3,000 to $5,000 to bill consolidators, and have nothing to show to it, when they could have filed Chapter 7 or 13 and really solved their problems and gotten a true fresh start.

Bankruptcy is very predictable. Everything is in writing, and while there are a lot of stupid lawyers who do lose $3000 or $5000 of their client’s money in Chapter 7’s, and take Chapter 13 cases that fail quickly after they get paid, Geraci Law does not engage in shady practices. So why pay the same, and not get the name? Ask your friends and family, and even your boss at work. Chances are they’ll say, “talk to Geraci Law.”

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com

When Will Creditors Stop Bothering Me?

If you are having trouble with bill payments, you should get a consultation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney before you make more payments to creditors.

Check out Chapter 20 in Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s “Complete Book on Bankruptcy.” This chapter is below, read more @ https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/

CHAPTER #20 When Will Creditors Stop Bothering Me?

The minute the bankruptcy case is filed. In the meantime, don’t talk to them, leave them on the answering machine. If they call you at work, get their info, give them your home number, and say “My employer does not allow calls at work, please call me at home.” These are magic words under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that require them to stop calling you at work. You can tell them that!

After we have prepared a petition listing your debts and assets, and prepared answers to required questions about your personal actions in relation to money, the bankruptcy petition is filed with the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court. Of course, your attorney fee must be paid in full, unless you have made other arrangements. After you have paid your attorney, you pay the filing fee, or court cost. It is about $300.00 (When I started practicing bankruptcy law, in 1974, the court cost was only $30.00.) This must be paid in the form of a money order or cashier check payable to the Clerk of U.S. Bankruptcy Court, since the Clerk does not take personal checks.

After the Clerk has stamped a bankruptcy case number, or docket number, on the petition, notice can be sent out to all creditors that you are under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court. Then, Federal law requires that all collection action stop.

After you have made up your mind what to do, I generally advise you to stop paying all creditors except the ones which will survive a bankruptcy. If you are having trouble with bill payments, you should get a consultation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney before you make more payments to creditors.

You may be wasting your money right now by making minimum payments on bills that don’t go down after you make the payment, or you may be paying money to creditors that you will get rid of, instead of creditors that you must pay.

It is important to understand that thinking about filing bankruptcy, or even talking about it, is not the same as giving money to an attorney and actually having a docket number assigned by the Clerk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Even giving money to an attorney is not enough. The case actually has to be filed with the Clerk. It is then that the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code which protect you from creditor harassment, bill collectors, wage assignments and lawsuits come into effect.

Those provisions are briefly known as the “automatic stay” provisions. This protection is known as the automatic stay, because the Bankruptcy Code provides that all creditor action is automatically stopped, or stayed, when a petition is filed with the Clerk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. This “automatic stay” is truly automatic, and even if a creditor does not know a bankruptcy case has been filed, you are protected from their actions.

For instance, if money is taken out of our paycheck by a creditor after the date a bankruptcy petition has been filed, it must be put back as soon as you notify your payroll department that you were under the protection of the automatic stay provisions of the Bankruptcy Code at the time the money was deducted.

I routinely provide my clients with notices entitled “Automatic Stay”, which state the language of the Code. I mail them to the client when the case is filed, so that the client can notify payroll, if necessary, or tell the docket number to any bill collector who calls. Sometimes clients get these in the mail, and even though we have discussed it thoroughly, they call up and say, “What are all these papers? Do you mean I have to notify my creditors? What am I paying you for?

I then explain again that this is for your benefit, so that you quickly have something in your hand to give to anyone who wants proof that you have filed a bankruptcy petition. Creditors and payroll departments will immediately stop any action if they know definitely that a bankruptcy has been filed.

Problem: Keith has a wage assignment from a finance company, and all his creditor cards are behind and bill collectors are calling him constantly.

The Peter Francis Geraci Chapter 7 or 13 Solution: The filing of any bankruptcy petition stops all creditor action. When Keith’s bankruptcy case is filed, the wage assignment has to stop, and no one can even call him on the telephone.

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com

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CHAPTER #2 Don’t be Embarrassed, Nervous, or Afraid

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CHAPTER #33 Can I Get Rid of Taxes with Bankruptcy?

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What Happens if I am Divorced or Pay Child Support?

File Before You Divorce

Debt in Divorce Decrees

Court Ordered Support

Protecting Rights in Bankruptcy

Always Consult an Attorney First

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CHAPTER #20 When Will Creditors Stop Bothering Me?

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