Debt can be overwhelming. Few of us set out to deliberately accumulate excessive credit card balances or sky-high medical debt. Yet it happens, but it usually happens for understandable, often unavoidable reasons. Good people become trapped by unmanageable debt for a wide range of reasons, such as unemployment, reduced wages or uninsured medical emergencies. Sometimes credit cards are the last resort to support the family. Good people lose track of how much they owe when hit by series of unbudgeted expenses, such as costly car repairs or a new boiler. This may lead to missed credit card payments that trigger penalty interest rates which often push the household finances beyond the tipping point and place catching up out of reach. Perhaps an unforeseen illness has kept from working and new medical bills are arriving almost daily.
Fortunately, Rock Springs Bankruptcy Attorney George L. Arnold and the law firm of Arnold Law Offices can help with offices in Rock Springs and Evanston. Mr. Arnold has filed more than 2800 bankruptcy cases in Wyoming under Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 and has the knowledge and experience to stop creditors from calling, to stop the wage garnishments, and to help you with your fresh start and new lease on life.
When Should You Consider Bankruptcy?
You should consider bankruptcy when you do not have a way out of your financial bind. If you are concerned about losing your home due to foreclosure, or your car may be repossessed, or creditors attach your wages to satisfy unpaid judgments, or you are being sued to collect a large consumer debt, then bankruptcy may be your best course of action. Filing for bankruptcy relief stops all collection efforts, lawsuits, and foreclosure effective the day that your bankruptcy petition is assigned a case number. Harassing and overzealous creditors are stopped in their tracks. No more creditor’s rude or threatening phone calls, no more garnishments, no more steps taken toward foreclosure.Filing bankruptcy can save your home from foreclosure and your car from repossession.
Many people put off even considering bankruptcy. Procrastinating is easy because of the supposed stigma of “going bankrupt.” One can conjure hope, regardless of the reality of the situation, that things will turn around. That might be true if you have a new job prospect with an increased salary or an out-of-work spouse finds gainful employment. However, waiting can be costly in many ways. As a few examples, waiting can lead to a garnishment. If you file under Chapter 13, waiting may increase your plan payments to the trustee. Waiting may cause you to miss mortgage or car payments resulting in foreclosure or repossession or resulting in a forced Chapter 13 filing in order to “cure” the missed payments.
Bankruptcy Worksheets. Call us at (307) 392-2002 to request a set of bankruptcy worksheets be provided to you or you can download and print the worksheets from this website by using our Resources page.
What Do You Need Do?
If are considering bankruptcy, call now us to review your situation. You should begin gathering the necessary documents. Locating and organizing these documents will help us move forward smoothly and quickly. There are several kinds of documents described in the Bankruptcy Worksheets but the most important are your tax returns and wage records. Assemble three (3) years’ of tax returns for the years immediately preceding the year in which you want to file. You will need six (6) months of paychecks. You must also bring us the most recent invoice or billing statement for each of your debts, even if you want to continue making payments on the debt, such as with a car loan or a home mortgage. You will also need to provide us with your monthly expenses as well a complete list of all of your assets. Completing the Bankruptcy Worksheets is the bast way to provide us with this information. In most cases, all or the great majority of your property will be protected from the trustee in bankruptcy under state and federal bankruptcy exemption statutes. Failing to list your assets can lead to criminal charges. So it is absolutely necessary, to be honest, and to give full and complete disclosure, as required by law, in your bankruptcy petition.
What Happens After Your Bankruptcy Is Filed?
Your attorney will use the information and records that you have with the Bankruptcy Worksheets to determine the type of bankruptcy petition you must submit or should file. Probably seventy-five percent of the bankruptcy clients at Arnold Law Offices are eligible to file under Chapter 7, which is the preferred filing because all of your debt will be discharged much sooner than in Chapter 13. Once the petition is filed, all debt collection action must cease. You must also cease using your credit cards. However, you should continue to pay your mortgage if you want to keep your house.Within 30 to 40 days after filing your bankruptcy petition, you must attend what is called a 341 meeting which is held the bankruptcy trustee and creditors who wish to appear. It is, however, very rare for a creditor to appear. The trustee will ask you questions that you must truthfully answer. The trustee will review your petition to make certain that you have taken the required debtor’s courses and will examine your property to ensure the property you claim is exempt from distribution is proper. Shortly after that, you will receive a discharge of your debts in the mail. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for seven (7) years.
Where Should You Turn For Help With Your Wyoming Bankruptcy Questions?
Rock Springs bankruptcy attorney George Arnold has helped many of his Wyoming neighbors file bankruptcy petitions. Call the Arnold Law Offices, PLLC in Rock Springs at 307-392-2002 or visit the Rock Springs Office located at 409 Broadway, Suite A.
Source:
http://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/bankruptcy/bankruptcy-basics
