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.

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 since 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.

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 Should I File For Bankruptcy?

The real question is, when you get in a situation where you can’t pay your bills, when should you eliminate or consolidate.

Read Chapter 5 of Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s “Complete Book on Bankruptcy” below or at https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/

The main causes are:

1. Financing lifestyle Buying things on credit can get out of hand

2. Failure to get raises Bills go up, but salary doesn’t. That is pretty common.

3. Illness When you’re ill, you can pay your bills

4. Bad luck Accidents, floods, fires, theft

5. Job loss Getting rehired often means taking a pay cut, now days

6. Gambling Yes, it’s a major cause of filing bankruptcy

7. Family Many solid working people are paying for family members debts

The real question is, when you get in a situation where you can’t pay your bills, when should you eliminate or consolidate. The answer is:

A. Before you spend your pension. The first thing many people do to pay bills is take a 401K loan or draw down their pension. Do NOT do that, because creditors cannot touch your 401K or pension. Bankruptcy laws protect your pension and 401K. No one can touch it. File before you think of using retirement funds to pay creditors.

B. When you lose a good job. There is an income test for Chapter 7. So if you lose a 100K a year job, why pay the credit cards unless you are going back to work right away. If you’re not back to work in 4 months, you might qualify for Chapter 7. But if you wait until you go back to work, you might not qualify, because now you make more than the median income, and your only remedy is Chapter 13 debt repayment, based on your income.

C. If illness and unpaid medical bills are your problem, wait until you are better, or have insurance before using up your right to file Chapter 7. If you are working and have ongoing medical that is unpaid, often Chapter 13 is a good idea, because it keeps your Chapter 7 option open.

D. If you simply aren’t making enough money, you should take my debtor education course, get out of debt, and learn how to budget. It just may be impossible to pay your debt on the salary you are making.

E. Don’t consider bankruptcy unless you can eliminate at least $10,000 in debt. It is just dumb to file any bankruptcy because you have a lawsuit for $4000. Settle it yourself. Save your bankruptcy for a real disaster.

***If three or more of the following apply to you, you should see a bankruptcy lawyer now.

***If more than 5 of the following apply to you, you should have already seen us 3 months ago!!!

_____My debt is over $10,000 not including a car or house.

_____My payments are over 25% of my take home pay.

_____I am frequently late on my payments.

_____I pay 20% interest on my debt.

_____I buy necessary items like food or clothing on credit.

_____I frequently get cash advances.

_____I am thinking about getting a loan to pay other loans.

_____ I have a lawsuit and over $10,000 in other debt I can eliminate.

_____Collection agencies are calling me.

_____I am “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

_____My balances are not going down even though I make payments.

_____I have been turned down for more credit.

_____Payments are more than 1 month behind on more than one bill.

_____My driver’s license is suspended because of an accident.

_____I am working but paying other debts so I can’t afford car insurance.

_____My mortgage or rent is always late, or is behind.

_____We are getting divorced and have too many bills to pay.

_____I have medical bills over $20,000 that are not insured.

_____There is a garnishment or wage assignment on my check.

_____I owe income taxes I can’t pay now.

_____My car is worth much less than I owe.

_____I have no savings.

If none of these apply to you, congratulations!! You are living the American Dream.PREVIOUS NEXT

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.

What About My Car in Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy can be used to get rid of bad car deals, or help you to pay for a vehicle you want to keep. You can buy a car on credit after filing bankruptcy, so you may want to dump a gas guzzler or high payment vehicle and get a cheaper one.

Below is Chapter 18 about your vehicle. Read this chapter and more https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/

If you are like most people, your car is financed. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that, in 1991, the average cost of owning a car that is financed is over $425.00 per month. The cost of owning a car includes the monthly payment, the interest lost on the down payment or cash value of the trade-in, repairs and maintenance, depreciation (the amount the car goes down in value every month), license and taxes, as well as gasoline and oil. I have seen more than a few people who are paying more for their car than for their rent. If they were living in their cars, that would be a good idea!

Many people are suffering from “car fever” when they buy a car. Dealers have relationships with finance companies that allow them to finance any kind of deal. If you want to finance a car with a bank or a finance company that has no relationship with the dealer, the first thing a loan officer will do is look up the car in a book which lists the value of the car. There are several services which provide such information. Most finance companies or banks that have no continuing relationship with a car dealer will only loan you 70 to 80% of the average retail price for the same type of car listed in the book. If you are paying more than the average retail price, you will be able to get a loan based on the average price similar cars are usually sold for, not on 75% of what you want to pay.

What does this mean to the average car buyer? It means that if you are paying too much more than the usual price everyone else pays for similar cars, the “average retail price”, you will have to put more money down. However, finance companies that have regular relationships or agreements with car dealers will lend you almost any amount, regardless of how much the car is really worth. In other words, they will finance you for the price the dealer got you to pay, not what the car is really worth.

When that happens, often the car is worth less than you owe on it. If the difference between what you owe, and what you could sell the car for, is very great, you may want to give the car back to the finance company. Then, you won’t owe anything, and you can start fresh and get another car.

Can you get another car, if you have filed a bankruptcy? This depends on you. If you are filing a bankruptcy, your credit is probably bad anyway right now. After you discharge your debts, you won’t have any payments to make, so you probably will be able to afford reasonable car payments. If you put some money down, many dealers will finance you again. Or, you can buy a used car for cash. Or, for what you would spend on a car, you can take cabs. The trick is to avoid getting into trouble on another car.

If your car payments are reasonable, and you owe less than the car is worth, or about the same, and you are up to date in your payments, and the car is running good, you will probably want to keep your car even though you are getting rid of the rest of your bills. This is absolutely no problem. The finance company will be happy to agree, generally, that your debt will survive the bankruptcy. This is done in writing, and is called a reaffirmation.

If you are behind in your payments, or don’t have car insurance, finance companies will seldom let you keep the car unless you cure those problems. This is true even when you are not doing a bankruptcy.

Many people come in to do a bankruptcy after the finance company has repossessed the car because they didn’t make the payments, or didn’t keep it insured. Sometimes I can get the car returned if they bring the payments up to date, and get insurance, but most of the time they are better off giving up the car.

In a situation where the car has already been repossessed, if you owe less than the car is worth, it might be worthwhile investigating filing a Chapter 13 debt repayment plan. This is a repayment bankruptcy, and the payments can be restructured if your budget allows it. Of course, Chapter 13 plans, in which you pay a payment to a court-appointed trustee who sends it to your creditors, are always more expensive than Chapter 7 bankruptcies.

If you have a car that you own, and it is not financed, you need to have me look at the exemptions allowed by law, to see if you could still file a bankruptcy and keep the car, free and clear of any claims of creditors. In Illinois, if the car is your main asset, and you own it free and clear, and you are the only one on the title, we need to see if you can keep it without having to do a Chapter 13. This may not be a problem, however. I do many Chapter 7 bankruptcies, especially for married people who own vehicles in joint tenancy, where they have cars and keep them free and clear in a bankruptcy. It all depends on your individual situation, and a competent bankruptcy attorney can advise you about this.

Example: Ted wrecked his car without insurance. The accident was his fault, and the other driver is suing him. He still owes $6,000 on his car note, and now the car finance company wants to be paid. His brother Bill has a 1989 Camaro. When he bought it, he traded in another car that was not paid off, and his car note now includes money he owed on the old car, as well as what he owes on the new car. Bill’s car note is $457 per month. He is current, but wants to give the car back and get a “beater” so he can save some money.

Their friend Ralph is up to date in his car payments, has insurance, but has a lot of medical bills and credit cards. He wants to keep his car and get rid of the rest of his debt.

The Peter Francis Geraci Chapter 7 or 13 Solution: Ted files a bankruptcy and lists the other driver and their insurance company, as well as his own car finance company. Any debts to them will be discharged. He can save up some money, go buy another car, and no one can sue him for the accident, so he won’t lose his driver’s license.

His brother Bill surrenders his car, and doesn’t have to pay a nickel more. He now has no bills, and can save up to buy another car.

Ralph is getting rid of his hospital bills and his credit card debt, so now he can afford his car payment. It is up to date, and the car is insured, so he can keep his car even though he is getting rid of other debt.

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

What Does Bankruptcy Cost?

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

Check out Chapter 9 of Attorney Peter Francis Geraci’s “Complete Book on Bankruptcy” at https://www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com/

CHAPTER #9 What Does Bankruptcy Cost?

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:

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”.

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com

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Credit Unions are Different than Banks in Bankruptcy

What is Cross-Collateralization?

The Debt Can Stay If You Cross-Collateralize

Do Credit Unions Debt Shame You?

What if Your Credit Union Vehicle is Over-Financed?

Complications from Credit Union Debts

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

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CHAPTER #20 When Will Creditors Stop Bothering Me?

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