After spending 15 years helping 30,000 families get the relief from debt they've been searching for through Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, you can imagine how many questions I've gotten about the bankruptcy process. But four questions in particular seem to come up more often than others. So, I've put the answer to my four most frequently asked questions about bankruptcy.
Q: If I file for bankruptcy, won't it cause more family troubles and even lead to divorce?
A: The opposite it usually true. Filing bankruptcy is not the problem. The problem is not being able to pay your bills and not being able to provide for your family. This is what causes the stress and anxiety to build and build.
All good, honest, hard-working people feel a strong need to pay their bills, and not being able to do so causes them to feel tremendous stress. Unless you do something to relieve this stress, it can quickly build to the breaking point...divorce.
Bankruptcy is designed to get you out from under the burden of debt, to protect your property, to lower your stress level and to let you, once again, sleep at night. If your experience is like that of other couples, you will find that filing bankruptcy (and lowering the stress level) can be a crucial first step in bringing the love and caring, not to mention hope, back into your relationship.
Q: Will I lose everything I own if I file bankruptcy?
A: Most of our clients don't lose anything. While laws vary from state to state, every state has exemptions that protect certain kinds of property. Using Missouri as an example, there are exemptions to protect such things as your house, your car, your truck, household goods and furnishings, IRAs, retirement plans, the cash value in life insurance, wages, and workers compensation claims. There is even a "wildcard" exemption per person that can be applied wherever you want it. In those rare situations where you have more property than can be protected by available exemptions, there is Chapter 13. In Chapter 13, you can even keep this property by paying back more to your unsecured creditors.
At the same time, filing bankruptcy does not generally wipe out or get rid of mortgages or liens against your property. Therefore, if you want to keep a car, truck, home or business equipment that serves as collateral for a loan, you need to keep paying on the debt. If you make these payments and have exemptions to cover any value above what is owed, you can rest assured you will be able to keep these items.
Q: Will filing bankruptcy hurt my credit for 10 years?
A: You are getting 2 completely different concepts confused with each other. You are getting the fact that bankruptcy is on your credit report for up to 10 years mixed up with the effect that report will have on your credit. Just because something is reported on your credit report does NOT necessarily mean it will have a negative effect on your credit standing.
First, let's get one thing out in the open. By the time you need to make an appointment to see a bankruptcy attorney, your credit is already messed up or maxed out, or both, or at least strongly headed in that direction. Think about it. If your credit is already messed up or maxed out, you, more than likely, have no credit for bankruptcy to hurt.
Furthermore, in my experience if you have not re-established good credit in 2 to 4 years after you file bankruptcy, it most likely has nothing to do with the fact that you filed bankruptcy. And it certainly is not because your credit history still shows an old bankruptcy filing.
Q: Doesn't filing bankruptcy mean you're a bad person?
A: Quite the contrary. Filing bankruptcy means you're a good person, acting responsibly. Everyone wants to pay their bills. Everyone. And everyone wants to take care of their family and provide their family with all the things they need. But, if you can't do both, which is more important? Your family, of course.
Filing bankruptcy gets rid of certain debts. Getting rid of certain debts frees up money to better take care of your family. Freeing up money to better take care of your family lets you put things back in their proper order: Family first. Putting your family first is good and honorable and noble and doing so means you're a good person.
There are good reasons why almost 1,000,000 families file bankruptcy every year, and it's not because they're bad people. Lots of good, honest, hard-working people fall on hard times. Job losses, medical difficulties, family emergencies, bad decisions, failed businesses, etc., are just a fact of life. Let's face it, life can be brutal, and sometimes the money's just not there. The bankruptcy laws were created with this in mind, to make sure that...if you need it...you and your family have a way to escape from the crushing burden of debt, to make sure that your family does come first, and so that you and your family can have a second chance at a "fresh start".
Author Resource:
Missouri Bankruptcy attorney James Brown has been working to relieve the debt of hard-working American families for over 15 years. He has dedicated his career to educating consumers about options for debt relief and has released 5 publications, including, "Get Out of Debt: Secrets Your Creditors Don't Want You to Know." You can request a free copy by visiting his website at http://www.CastleLaw.net .
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Author Resource:-> Missouri Bankruptcy attorney James Brown has been working to relieve the debt of hard-working American families for over 15 years. He has dedicated his career to educating consumers about options for debt relief and has released 5 publications, including, "Get Out of Debt: Secrets Your Creditors Don't Want You to Know." You can request a free copy by visiting his website at http://www.CastleLaw.net .