Throughout your life, you have worked hard to make the money to purchase your car, home, and other significant possessions. Unfortunately, if you find yourself in debt, creditors are quick to begin sending letters and make harassing phone calls, threatening that your property will be repossessed if you do not make payments. At Todd Cushner & Associates, our bankruptcy litigation experts can work with you to help prevent repossessions, enabling you to keep what is yours while rebuilding your credit.
The Automatic Stay
When successfully filing for bankruptcy, you may be granted what is known as an automatic stay order. The automatic stay blocks creditors from attempting to collect anything you owe them; and this includes money and certain possessions.
What Can an Automatic Stay Protect?
The automatic stay can protect various aspects of your finances and property; this includes debt relief and the prevention of many different types of fiscal penalties from being pursued.
Foreclosure on Your Home
Is your home being foreclosed on due to the temporary inability to make your mortgage payments? After successfully filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the automatic stay will end the foreclosure proceedings, enabling you to pay off your mortgage comfortably over an extended period of time.
Utilities
Are you behind on utility bill payments, worrying about losing your electricity, heating, water, or other household needs? The automatic stay protects you against any of these home lifelines from being cut off for a minimum of 20 days.
Wage Garnishment
After successfully filing for bankruptcy, creditors will not be able to take your hard-earned cash directly from your paycheck. As a bonus, qualifying debt like balances on credit cards and certain types of loans are discharged, giving you the power to take control of your financial situation.
Preventing Automobile Repossession
When you find yourself in debt, the last thing you need is your car being repossessed, preventing you from traveling to and from work to make the money potentially helping you to get out of debt. Once you have filed for bankruptcy and been granted the automatic stay, creditors will also be prevented from repossessing personal property, including your car.
Note: When filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the automatic stay will help prevent collections and the potential repossession of your car. Your Chapter 13 bankruptcy payment plan will enable you to affordably pay off any owed car payments. And if you happen to owe more money than the worth of your car, your payments may actually be lowered!
When filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you will have to comply with a reaffirmation agreement which lets you pay of your car loan after filing.
