What is the Real Price Difference Between Bankruptcy Lawyers?

This is Chapter 10 of Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s book. Read below and check out more information @ https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/

I have found that there is very little difference in attorney’s fees. You can’t save more than a couple hundred dollars between lawyers’ fees for the same type of case. Some people like cheap doctors, and some people like cheap food. Some people pick attorneys by a $100 difference in price, not realizing that one deal your attorney makes can save or cost you thousands.

So, the cheapest lawyer in town is not necessarily the best. In other words, go for experience, not price, because there is not much difference in fees for consumer bankruptcies, but there is a big difference in the quality of the advice and service.

For instance, let’s say that 5 years later, a bill collector calls and says you left him off your petition, and he wants to be paid. Will you be able to call your attorney who did the Chapter 7, for advice, or will the telephone be disconnected? If it is Geraci Law, yes you can. 7 am to 7 pm and Saturdays until 1 PM. All your records are electronic. No voice mail either.

Usually, Chapter 7 fees can be paid in installments of as low as $100 a month. Chapter 13 Plans including attorney fees are as low as $95 biweekly. If you can’t afford $100 or $200 a month, you may have to ask friends or family to help you out.

In my opinion, anyone “shopping for fees” for a bankruptcy attorney, is not thinking clearly. If you can clear $10,000 in debt, tax free for $1500, it is a bargain. 10 payments of $150 or even $200 is a bargain.

Chapter 13 cases are even more of a bargain. In almost every state, the attorney fee is exactly the same. Most Chapter 13 cases get filed “no money down”, because it’s a repayment plan. Your attorney gets paid from your Chapter 13 payment, which takes care of attorney fees and all debt. Your Chapter 13 payment could be as low as $95 bi-weekly, or more depending on what debt you are paying back.

Geraci Law represents people on Social Security with low income, and people making over $100,000 a year. Anyone quoting the same fee for any case, on the phone, may be engaging in “bait and switch” tactics. But, if you are really were just looking for the cheapest lawyer in town, sadly for you, there are some poor lawyers at the bottom of their career that will work for free. You kind of get what you pay for.

Geraci Law is the largest filer of bankruptcies in Illinois Indiana and Wisconsin, and you will generally find that the largest law firms probably have the happiest clients, and about the same fees, when you get done, as the all-by-myself attorneys.

Lawyers that claim to be “cheap” can often end up costing you more! Beware of “cheap fee quotes on the phone”

In most Chapter 13 cases, you are saving a lot of money on interest, so the cost is less than paying the creditors at their contract rate of interest. However, Chapter 7 cases are usually cheaper than Chapter 13 cases in terms of total cost. Many “cheap” lawyers don’t know the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, so if you go there, you won’t know either.

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 5starsince November 2016!

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

Meet Our Kentucky Team!

Meet Our Geraci Law Team in Kentucky!

Attorney Marc Affolter

Attorney Marc Affolter graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Miami University, with a minor in Business Legal Studies. While in law school, he was the Managing Editor for the Journal of Legal Medicine, interned for Judge Paul P. Biebel, presiding Judge of Cook County’s felony courthouse and interned for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. While working for the Lake County State’s Attorney, Marc co-chaired a domestic battery jury trial and won. Attorney Affolter is beloved by clients with reviews ranging from “awesome,” “fantastic,” and a “pleasure to deal with.” In his spare time, he enjoys watching the Chicago Blackhawks and reading historical non-fiction.

Attorney Rob Brynjelsen

Attorney Rob Brynjelsen is a senior and supervising attorney at Geraci Law. He is responsible for managing attorneys in Wisconsin, and Indiana. Attorney Brynjelsen is licensed to practice in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Ohio and Florida. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign and his Juris Doctor from University of Miami. He has advised on more than 10,000 consumer bankruptcy cases. He spends at minimum a few weeks a year visiting all of our Indiana and Wisconsin locations ensuring the Geraci Law standard throughout the Midwest.

Ryan Balmer

Ryan is the paralegal at the New Albany Indiana office and is ready to help assist folks in Indiana and Kentucky with the Bankruptcy process. He works to make the process hassle-free helping clients get the relief they need!

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 5starsince November 2016!

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

Are Unlisted Creditors Discharged in My Bankruptcy Case?

Read the article below or @ https://www.infotapes.com/Articles written by Attorney Peter Francis Geraci.

That depends.  In the First Circuit and the Seventh Circuit, there are cases that talk about missing creditors that aren’t discharged unless the case is reopened to amend schedules to list an omitted creditor, but, at least in the 7th Circuit, that reasoning is rarely followed.

In Stark v. St. Mary’s Hospital, 717 F.2d 322 (7th 1983), the Seventh Circuit concluded that the decision of whether to discharge the debt of an omitted creditor is based on equity. The Stark court said the burden is on the debtor to show that law and equitable principles allow the reopening of the case to include the omitted creditor. Without such a showing by the debtor, the debt will not be discharged and the creditor will have a claim against the debtor, despite the previous order for discharge of debts.

This case has been criticized for suggesting that adding a creditor to a schedule has an effect on the dischargeability of the underlying debt. See In re Anderson, 72 B.R. 783 (Bankr. D. Minn. 1987).

The general rule in most jurisdictions is that a debt is either dischargeable or not based on the nature of the debt, and the nature of the status of the claims proceeding, and that reopening the case is unnecessary.

Even in the 7th Circuit, which is Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, if the creditor has actual notice of some kind, such as you called and told them, or if “no harm, no foul” because the case was a “no asset case” and they would have gotten nothing even if they were listed, or if the creditor is really to blame because they sold the debt to someone else and didn’t tell them, the case does not have to be reopened at all. At Geraci Law, the issue rarely comes up.

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 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

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

Medical Debt To Be Removed from Credit Reports

See article from CNET ” Medical Debt to Be Removed from Credit Reports This Summer – What to Know” @ https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/medical-debt-to-be-removed-from-credit-reports-this-summer-what-to-know/

This does not mean you do not owe the debt but rather the 3 major credit reporting agencies Experian, Equifax and Transunion will not report debt until ONE YEAR of going into collections and the plan is NOT report any balance under $500.

If you have unpaid debt, if you need help – the medical bills may not show up but creditors can still attempt to collect, call Geraci Law. We’re happy to help.

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 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

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

Credit Unions & Bankruptcy

Read the article from Attorney Peter Francis Geraci about Credit Unions and the difference in bankruptcy. This is why hiring an experienced attorney – matters. If you would like a free consultation, Geraci Law is here for you.

Credit Unions are Different than Banks in Bankruptcy

If you owe money to a credit union, they usually have a clause in their borrowing contract that any collateral you have given them, such as the car title, or a second mortgage on your house, is collateral for any other loans such as personal loans. It is what’s known as a cross-collateralization clause.

What is Cross-Collateralization?

Let’s say that you made a credit union loan for $3,000 and it was a personal loan and you had no collateral. Then you financed a car using a credit union loan, and you have $25,000 on that loan.

Look at your credit union papers when you made that vehicle loan. You don’t owe $25,000 on that loan; you owe $28,000, because there is a clause in small print that says any loan you have with them, is collateralized by the vehicle.

The Debt Can Stay If You Cross-Collateralize

Let’s say that you have a second mortgage with your credit union, and you take out a car loan, but then the car is wrecked and the insurance would only pay $15,000 but you owe $20,000. So the insurance pays the credit union $15,000 but you still owe $5,000. Since the car is destroyed, it is no longer collateral for the car loan, but since there is a cross-collateralization clause, you will pay $5,000 if it is secured by the second mortgage on your house. Even if you pay off the second mortgage, you have to pay off that $5,000 on the car loan, plus interest until you pay it off.

Do Credit Unions Debt Shame You?

Credit unions claim that they keep their interest rates are low because they have less losses than other lenders. One way they have less losses is by scaring you, and posting the names of anyone who causes them a loss, by not paying back 100% of what they owe, either on the credit union website or on a bulletin board at the credit union, or both. That is called “credit shaming.” It is pretty nasty, but it’s a fact of life with credit unions.

What if Your Credit Union Vehicle is Over-Financed?

So, under Chapter 7, if you have a vehicle and you want to keep it, and it’s financed by a credit union, they will want the vehicle back unless you sign up on the vehicle loan and any other loans you have with them. Under Chapter 13, they are a secured creditor on cross-collateralized loans.

Complications from Credit Union Debts

So, the most common case involving credit unions is that if you want to keep the vehicle financed by them, or you have a second mortgage financed with them, no other loans, it’s pretty routine: In Chapter 7 you reaffirm, in Chapter 13 simply pay them according to the contract terms.

The complication comes in where you have multiple loans with them and that’s something we can discuss with you, but please, go get a copy of each credit union loan so we can read the paperwork and see if there is a cross-collateralization clause. You can also stop by the credit union, and ask them for a copy of the papers and ask them if the loans are crossed with each other. Then you’ll know and can make an intelligent decision. Geraci law can help you make that decision.

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 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

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

What Bankruptcy Can Do!

No one wakes up in the morning and says, “I want to file for bankruptcy!” It does not work that way. Life happens and more often than not you are in more debt with less income. Sometimes it’s as simple as bad luck – you get into a car accident 2 days after your insurance lapses, you start a new job and are in the hospital before health insurance kicks in. There’s divorce, life circumstance – things happen.

Thankfully, we have bankruptcy as an option to deal with the debt. Filing for bankruptcy can be the fresh start and breath of fresh air you are looking for. So what can it do for you?

  • Gets rid of as many bills as possible
  • Does not affect car payments if you keep the car and continue payments
  • STOPS all calls and letters from bill collectors.
  • STOPS interest on charge cards.
  • CLEARS credit report except for bankruptcy listing.
  • Allows you to INCREASE your credit score.
  • Helps you catch up on house and car payments.
  • Lowers interest on furniture and appliance payments.
  • Allows you to start a savings plan immediately.
  • STOPS garnishments and wage assignments.
  • NEVER pay another old debt again.
  • Clear up past due utility bills–only a deposit needed to restart service.
  • All negative credit reports before bankruptcy are cleared.
  • Accounts you have reaffirmed or paid are credit references in the future.

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 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

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

Geraci Law – Chicago Ashland & Jackson

Geraci Law office located at 234 South Ashland, Chicago, IL 60607 at the southwest corner of Ashland & Jackson. We’re are RIGHT across the street from Rush Hospital.

Geraci Law office located at 234 South Ashland, Chicago, IL 60607 at the southwest corner of Ashland & Jackson. We’re are RIGHT across the street from Rush Hospital.

The office is easy to get to for anyone living in the Chicago West Loop neighborhood, right near Teamster City. If you live in Chicagoland, getting to the Geraci Law Ashland office is hassle-free and easy!

You can schedule to meet us in person at the Ashland office. There’s plenty of street parking and easy access for anyone working at Rush Hospital. Geraci Law is located next to the Mexican Consulate!

Check out our office before the renovation!

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 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

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

Geraci Law is OPEN in South Bend

Geraci is open in South Bend and ready to help YOU with your debt! We’re located at 1251 N. Eddy Street in Suite 200 inside the Eddy Street Commons Building directly across from Starbuck’s. The entrance is between TIAA and O’Rourke’s Public House.

You can schedule online @ https://www.infotapes.com/Bankruptcy/OfficeLocator or give us a call. We can meet you in person, we can meet virtually – whatever is easiest for YOU!

Check out PFG in South Bend @ https://fb.watch/aKFXn9Poxe/

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 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

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

Links and Resources!

Geraci Law dedicates a page on http://www.infotapes.com to resources and links for job fairs, free family events & more! Check it out @ https://www.infotapes.com/Links.

Geraci Law wants to be a resource to you! Did you know on our web site, we have a special page called Tools & Links? Geraci Law routinely updates to include info like job fairs, free family events and more! Check it out at https://www.infotapes.com/Links.

Here are some of links under Free Family Services

3 For FreeFun, free things to do in Lake County, ILlittlelakecounty.com
A Parents Guide to Community Resources in MilwaukeeList of community resources and contact informationoakcreekwi.org
After School Programs (Illinois)Afterschool programs for children and teens.ACT Now!
After School Programs (Indiana)Afterschool programs for children and teens.Indiana Afterschool Network
After School Programs (Wisconsin)Afterschool programs for children and teens.Wisconsin Aftershool Network
Chicago Public LibraryFree events for library card holders.Chicago Public Library
Childbirth & Parenting Classes (Indiana)Affordable parenting classes.Community Health Network
Free Mommy & Me Classes (Illinois – Chicago)A list of free programs for new moms and babies.Mommy Nearest
Illinois Winter EventsList of holiday events and festivals in IllinoisTravel Illinois
Indianapolis Public LibraryFree events for library card holders.Indianapolis Public Library
Milwaukee Public LibraryFree events for library card holders.Milwaukee Public Library
Parenting ClassesAffordable parenting classes.The Parenting Network
Parenting Education Program (Illinois-Chicago)Support services with focus on youths in foster care, teen parents and low income families.Ucan
SouthShore Convention & Visitor Authority30 Free and fun things to do on the South Shoresouthshorecva.com

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 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

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

Debt Collectors can text you, email you, and contact you on social media!

The federal agency Consumer Financial Protection Bureau doesn’t seem to be protect you much when they passed new rules that let debt collectors email you, text you, and message you on social media.

Read article below by Attorney Peter Francis Geraci and more @ https://www.infotapes.com/Articles

The federal agency Consumer Financial Protection Bureau doesn’t seem to be protect you much when they passed new rules that let debt collectors email you, text you, and message you on social media. They do have to identify themselves as debt collectors. On social media, they can send you a fried request. They have to give you the option to opt out of being contacted online. Any messages have to be private, not on you public or contacts page.

The good news is that you will be more aware of collection activities, so you can do something about your financial mess before you get sued or garnished. Of course, most people who have debt collectors contacting them don’t do much of anything if it is just one small debt. But if you have $10,000 or more in consumer debt, outside of student loans, and you are getting emails and texts, you can be sure that it just isn’t going away, and debts have at least a 5 year statute of limitation before the debt is to old to collect

Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy stop all collection efforts during the bankruptcy proceedings, and stop all collection permanently on debts you obtain a discharge for. The sooner you contact Geraci Law if you have over $10,000 in debt you can’t pay, the sooner you will be able to decide what to do.

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 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

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