With the beginning of the New Year, people everywhere have vowed to achieve new goals and get a fresh start with hope of a more fulfilling future. Most peoples’ goals or resolutions are personal; they involve family, friends, self-improvement, and many times finances. When considering getting a fresh start on ones’ finances, many people embrace the idea of relieving themselves of the burden of insurmountable debt by filing for Bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy is a complex area of law and involves many considerations, including whether to file, determining which type of Bankruptcy to file, the use of exemptions, understanding the protections of the Bankruptcy Code and using them to your advantage.
Many people utilize bankruptcy as a strategy for resolving unmanageable debt. Today, it is more common than most realize and can be a refreshing solution to a debt-ridden life.
Advantages and alternatives to consider:
Elimination of Debt: The main advantage to filing for bankruptcy is the discharge of most debt. The discharge totally eliminates the obligation to pay many types of debt including your credit card debt, old medical bills, utilities bills, unsecured loans, pay day loans, and most other types of unsecured debt. ***Note: Certain types of debt cannot be avoided by filing for bankruptcy including Student Loans, Child Support and Alimony Payments, Court Fines, DUI judgments against the debtor, and debts incurred by Fraud.
Avoid Creditor Harassment: Once a debtor files for bankruptcy, there is an automatic stay on the collection of debt and most creditors must terminate their collection efforts immediately. The stay is an automatic court order that prohibits all sorts of collection attempts by creditors, and postpones most actions against the debtor, including repossessions, garnishments or attachments, utility shutoffs, foreclosures, and evictions.
Get a Fresh Start: You will be able to pay the things that are important to you, and begin rebuilding your credit in peace!
Alternatives to Consider: Bankruptcy is not the only method of dealing with insurmountable debt, and other methods may be more advantageous for your particular situation. Such alternatives may include an out-of-court settlement with creditors, reduction of payments to creditors, consolidation of debts, or payment of debts by sale of assets or borrowing on assets. However, the availability of these methods varies depending on the severity of your financial difficulties, and also requires cooperation from creditors.