Pop quiz: What do Walt Disney, Mark Twain and Larry King have in common?
They each filed a personal bankruptcy and went on to have extraordinary success in life.
Bankruptcy is not a professional or financial death sentence. Just ask Donald Trump who has filed multiple Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcies for his casinos. Bankruptcy is a financial tool that uses the federal law to protect the honest, but unfortunate debtor. Bankruptcy allows the debtor the opportunity to restructure finances and formulate a plan to repay or discharge debt. Bankruptcy provides the debtor a fresh start to a new financial future – one free of the pressures from debt collectors.
Here’s another question: What honor did Kim Basinger and Burt Reynolds receive after filing personal bankruptcy?
Each was nominated for an Academy Award in 1997. Basinger won an Oscar for best supporting actress for L.A. Confidential, and Reynolds was nominated for best supporting actor for Boogie Nights.
Bankruptcy can help you and your family build a more solid financial foundation. Henry Ford created another automobile company after his first company filed bankruptcy. It’s safe to say that Ford Motor Company would not exist today without the help of the federal bankruptcy laws. The same can be said for General Motors, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009.
How can bankruptcy help you? The bankruptcy laws can stop a foreclosure sale, a pending lawsuit, and creditor harassment. Bankruptcy can protect your family assets and retirement accounts from creditors. Bankruptcy can eliminate debt or give you time to repay loans including delinquent car and home payments. The federal bankruptcy laws helped over a million people get relief during 2009, including celebrities Stephen Baldwin, Sinbad, and Bernie Kosar.
As Abraham Lincoln (filed bankruptcy in 1833) once said, “The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” If you are experiencing overwhelming financial difficulty, take the first step to a better future by speaking with an experienced bankruptcy attorney today.
Showing posts with label lawsuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lawsuit. Show all posts
Monday, August 16, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Can Bankruptcy Stop a Rental Eviction?
A person’s financial situation is often desperate by the time a bankruptcy is filed. In some circumstances the rent is past due and the debtor is facing eviction. Fortunately, the bankruptcy laws can help many debtors stay in their homes, at least temporarily.
Generally, when you file a bankruptcy petition all collection actions are automatically stayed. The purpose of this stay is to give you some breathing room and time to sort out your financial difficulties. If you are behind on rent payments, the bankruptcy automatic stays the commencement or continuation of an eviction action. The automatic stay prohibits your landlord from any attempt to collect rents that accrued prior to the bankruptcy filing date. Your landlord may not write or call you in an effort to collect these rents, and may not start or continue a lawsuit to evict you.
The bankruptcy automatic stay will not relieve you from your obligation to pay rent after the bankruptcy filing date. If you fall behind on your rent payments after the bankruptcy is filed, your landlord may evict you regardless of the bankruptcy, but cannot seek payment of past rents. If you are not behind on rents at the time the bankruptcy case is filed, your landlord is not a creditor and will not receive notice of your bankruptcy filing. However, you must account for any rent deposit on your bankruptcy schedules.
In some circumstances a landlord may complain to the bankruptcy court that the tenant is endangering the property or using controlled substances illegally on the property. The landlord must file a certification to the bankruptcy court and the tenant has 15 days to respond. The court must hold a hearing within 10 days. If the landlord is successful in this complaint, the court will lift the automatic stay and allow the eviction process to continue.
If your landlord has obtained a judgment for possession and order of eviction before you file bankruptcy, the legal process is more complex. You must deposit one month of rent to the bankruptcy court immediately upon filing the bankruptcy petition along with a certification stating that your landlord’s judgment permits you to stay in the premises upon satisfaction of the entire judgment amount. This filing stays the eviction process for thirty days. If you wish to remain longer, the amount stated in the judgment for possession must be paid within the thirty day period.
Bankruptcy can stop an eviction and give you time to move or make arrangements to stay. If you are facing eviction from your rental home and contemplating bankruptcy, discuss your situation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney.
Generally, when you file a bankruptcy petition all collection actions are automatically stayed. The purpose of this stay is to give you some breathing room and time to sort out your financial difficulties. If you are behind on rent payments, the bankruptcy automatic stays the commencement or continuation of an eviction action. The automatic stay prohibits your landlord from any attempt to collect rents that accrued prior to the bankruptcy filing date. Your landlord may not write or call you in an effort to collect these rents, and may not start or continue a lawsuit to evict you.
The bankruptcy automatic stay will not relieve you from your obligation to pay rent after the bankruptcy filing date. If you fall behind on your rent payments after the bankruptcy is filed, your landlord may evict you regardless of the bankruptcy, but cannot seek payment of past rents. If you are not behind on rents at the time the bankruptcy case is filed, your landlord is not a creditor and will not receive notice of your bankruptcy filing. However, you must account for any rent deposit on your bankruptcy schedules.
In some circumstances a landlord may complain to the bankruptcy court that the tenant is endangering the property or using controlled substances illegally on the property. The landlord must file a certification to the bankruptcy court and the tenant has 15 days to respond. The court must hold a hearing within 10 days. If the landlord is successful in this complaint, the court will lift the automatic stay and allow the eviction process to continue.
If your landlord has obtained a judgment for possession and order of eviction before you file bankruptcy, the legal process is more complex. You must deposit one month of rent to the bankruptcy court immediately upon filing the bankruptcy petition along with a certification stating that your landlord’s judgment permits you to stay in the premises upon satisfaction of the entire judgment amount. This filing stays the eviction process for thirty days. If you wish to remain longer, the amount stated in the judgment for possession must be paid within the thirty day period.
Bankruptcy can stop an eviction and give you time to move or make arrangements to stay. If you are facing eviction from your rental home and contemplating bankruptcy, discuss your situation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Options When Sued Over Credit Card Debt
Receiving a lawsuit summons is a very scary thing. Whether served by a law enforcement officer, private process server, or received by mail, the idea of facing a judge and a skilled attorney is very intimidating. Fortunately, your legal options are very clear: (1) do nothing; (2) defend the law suit; (3) negotiate a settlement; or (4) file a bankruptcy.
The first option, do nothing, is obviously a bad choice. The court will enter a judgment against you and your wages may be garnished or property seized (e.g. the contents of a bank account). Even if the debt is ultimately paid or discharged in bankruptcy, the judgment will remain on your credit report for at least seven (7) years.
The second and third options, defend the law suit and/or negotiate a settlement, are very difficult to accomplish. Once the creditor has hired an attorney and filed a lawsuit there is very little that a person or non-attorney debt settlement firm can do to “settle” the debt. The collection attorney will use the legal processes to its advantage and knows that an unrepresented person is generally unable to successfully defend the lawsuit. Even the lay-person-friendly small claims process can be filled with pitfalls. Additionally, the cost of hiring an attorney and defending a lawsuit can get very expensive and the collection attorney is betting that you will not pay $3,000 to an attorney to contest a $3,000 credit card debt. The collection attorney believes (rightly) that it has the advantage and will ultimately obtain a legally enforceable judgment against you. Depending on your cardholder agreement, you may be liable for the principal, interest, penalties, court fees, and attorney fees. Why would they settle for less?
The final option, bankruptcy, is a very powerful tool. Bankruptcy immediately stops the lawsuit and prevents the entry of a judgment. Once the individual’s obligation to pay the debt is discharged by the bankruptcy court, the lawsuit must be dismissed and cannot be refilled. Filing bankruptcy prevents almost all future lawsuits from being filed and can discharge the obligation to pay most court judgments.
If you have been sued by a credit card company, discuss your situation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. There are many options for dealing with your financial difficulty, and a bankruptcy attorney can help you select the best course of action for you and your family.
The first option, do nothing, is obviously a bad choice. The court will enter a judgment against you and your wages may be garnished or property seized (e.g. the contents of a bank account). Even if the debt is ultimately paid or discharged in bankruptcy, the judgment will remain on your credit report for at least seven (7) years.
The second and third options, defend the law suit and/or negotiate a settlement, are very difficult to accomplish. Once the creditor has hired an attorney and filed a lawsuit there is very little that a person or non-attorney debt settlement firm can do to “settle” the debt. The collection attorney will use the legal processes to its advantage and knows that an unrepresented person is generally unable to successfully defend the lawsuit. Even the lay-person-friendly small claims process can be filled with pitfalls. Additionally, the cost of hiring an attorney and defending a lawsuit can get very expensive and the collection attorney is betting that you will not pay $3,000 to an attorney to contest a $3,000 credit card debt. The collection attorney believes (rightly) that it has the advantage and will ultimately obtain a legally enforceable judgment against you. Depending on your cardholder agreement, you may be liable for the principal, interest, penalties, court fees, and attorney fees. Why would they settle for less?
The final option, bankruptcy, is a very powerful tool. Bankruptcy immediately stops the lawsuit and prevents the entry of a judgment. Once the individual’s obligation to pay the debt is discharged by the bankruptcy court, the lawsuit must be dismissed and cannot be refilled. Filing bankruptcy prevents almost all future lawsuits from being filed and can discharge the obligation to pay most court judgments.
If you have been sued by a credit card company, discuss your situation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. There are many options for dealing with your financial difficulty, and a bankruptcy attorney can help you select the best course of action for you and your family.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
