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I had a client come in last week and they had some concerns and they really wanted to learn about the benefits of bankruptcy. When clients come in and they’re asking for financial help, they’re in trouble. It doesn’t matter. The bottom line is they’re in financial trouble; there’s a lot of stress. It’s hard to go and actually make the phone call. It’s really hard to come in. What they find is once I’ve talked to them and given them all of their options, they feel a lot better. They wanted to know really what the benefits of bankruptcy could do for them.
Number one, it is going to go and stop the harassment. It’s going to go and stop not only the creditors calling you, writing you, texting you, emailing you. It’s also going to go and protect all of your assets. You don’t have to worry about losing the house or the car or whatever the case may be. It also is going to go and stop any civil litigation between you and someone else. Generally speaking, it stops all of the litigation. The only exception would be something like family court or divorce. It certainly isn’t going to go and stop something like that.
What it does is I guess I would describe it as like a time out in basketball or football or something like that. It allows you to go and be protected while you go and get your situation under control. Now if it is just an unsecured problem, credit cards and medical bills, credit lines, whatever the case may be, then a Chapter 7 is just going to wipe that out. It’s going to stop them; it’s going to wipe it out. You’ll walk away free and clear of that in four months. Whereas if you’ve got a much more complex situation, you’re behind on your house, you’re behind on your vehicles, you’re behind on your income taxes, you’re behind on your real estate taxes, more complex situations like that, then we’re going to go and file a Chapter 13.
The whole purpose of the Chapter 13, and actually everybody wants this, I don’t care if you’re the client, me, the trustee, the judge, even most creditors, they want to see you get under control so that they can go and get paid what they’re entitled to under Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Generally speaking, everyone gets paid over a term of up to five years, at the shortest three years. The exceptions of course are your unsecured creditors, again, your credit cards, your medical bills, your credit lines; those guys are going to take a hit. Our goal, my goal is to go and save you 95% of that debt. My goal is how do you pay back 5% over five years or 1% a year.
Are you looking for debt relief and have questions about the benefits of bankruptcy in New York? Contact experienced Jamestown bankruptcy lawyer Scott F. Humble for a free confidential consultation. Let his experience work for you.
