1.
Eliminate the legal obligation to pay many of your debts.
This process of wiping the slate clean is called a discharge
of debts. The goal of a discharge is to reduce debt to give you a
fresh start. Whether it is through straight bankruptcy (Chapter 7
Bankruptcy) or through reorganization (Chapter 13 Bankruptcy), most
or all of your debts can be cleared.
2. Stop foreclosure on
you house and allow you to effectively make payments to catch up on
missed payments of your mortgage.
If your home is in foreclosure, Chapter
13 Bankruptcy will stop the foreclosure any time prior to the
sale. Bankruptcy does not eliminate mortgages on your property
without payment. Rather, bankruptcy will structure a plan in order to
repay your mortgage arrears (the amount that you are
behind).
3. Prevent your
car or other property from being repossessed.
Even if the
creditor has repossessed your car, filing bankruptcy can effectively
force them to return your car or other personal property (if the
bankruptcy is filed quickly enough). The past payments you have
missed will be consolidated into your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy plan.
After this you will no longer pay the finance company, rather you
will make monthly payments to the trustee of your Chapter 13
Bankruptcy who will then pay the finance company.
4. Reduce
or even eliminate high medical bills.
Sometimes an
unfortunate accident or major recently discovered illness can
completely ruin a family. Many families have to make choices on
allocation of bills. Often, bills that were once important become
insignificant to the large medical bills acquired by a loved one.
Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can greatly reduce the amount of medical
bills.
5. Recent loss of employment.
Studies show
that loss of work is one of the most common reasons people file for
bankruptcy. This is very easy to see. A family can get comfortable
on two maybe even one salary. They can take on regular amount of
debts, join clubs, and pay normal bills with relative ease. All of a
sudden one or both spouses lose a job and a family must go from two
salaries to one. Losing a job is closely tied to high medical bills.
Losing a job means this family may be left without the protection of
insurance that was once provided by their employer. Often times
these two factors combined create an almost impossible mountain to
climb without the help of bankruptcy.
6. Stop harassing
behavior from creditors.
Some creditors do not always take
the right course of action when attempting to collect a debt. Often,
creditors will persistently call the home of a particular debtor
with demeaning and abusive behavior. Not only is this unethical it
can rise to the level of unlawful. In essence, bankruptcy will put
on hold the demands of many creditors and stop the harassing phone
calls and other inappropriate behavior all together.
7.
Restore or prevent your utilities from being shut off.
As
you have probably seen many of these reasons overlap. Some lead to
another. If your home is in risk of foreclosure then your utility
bill may also be in risk of being terminated. Filing bankruptcy can
prevent the utility company from leaving you in the dark.
8. Provide help for large amounts of student loan debt.
While it is true
that your student loans will not be eliminated like several other
types of unsecured debt, bankruptcy can consolidate your student
loan debt. This consolidation will allow a debtor to make monthly
payments through Chapter 13 Bankruptcy that are within the financial
ability of the debtor.
9. End wage garnishments.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will stop wage garnishment. Wage
garnishment basically takes away your weekly earnings often times
leaving you without necessities. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy allows you to
purchase necessities for you and your family. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
will also help in this regard.
10. Challenge certain claims
of fraudulent creditors.
Bankruptcy will allow you to
challenge these claims from creditors who are trying to collect more
money from you than you really owe. An attorney can provide the
support and the backing you will need to step up to these creditors.
Attorneys often even the playing field between a big creditor and a
single debtor. Filing bankruptcy with an attorney can stop
fraudulent reporting by a creditor.