Economists Declare “Recession Is Over!” Where is the recovery?

I keep reading news reports like one in the Journal Constitution today that says even two Georgia economists say the recession is over. They claim though that the recovery will be slow and painful.

Not much good news in that for Atlanta residents facing foreclosure and layoffs. If you are facing financial difficulty, you should talk to an experienced bankruptcy attorney about your options to eliminate your debts.

An Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer can help you determine if you are a candidate for Chapter 7 bankrutpcy, or if you will have to file a Chapter 13 case to stop foreclosure on your home.

A bankruptcy attorney can also explain how debt elimination programs work, and help you if you choose to take that course of action.

Filed under: Economic News — Tags: , , , , , — Rob @ 6:16 am

Atlanta Bankruptcy – What is involved?

Bankruptcy is a legal filing that allows a person who is unable to pay their debts to rewrite their financial future.  Bankruptcies are managed by the federal bankruptcy court. 

In Atlanta, bankruptcy is handled by the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia.  If you are considering choosing to file for bankruptcy in the Atlanta area, your first course of action should be to contact an Atlanta bankruptcy attorney. 

This professional can assist you in reviewing your own financial situation and help you determine if filing for bankruptcy is the best decision for you.  A qualified Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer can also discuss which chapter of bankruptcy is best for you to file based on your unique situation and can guide you in every step of the bankruptcy filing process. 

Remember that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and its officials are prohibited from giving any advice that may be construed as legal advice.  The only person who can offer advice on your bankruptcy filing is a licensed attorney. 

Once you and your representative determine the best course of action in your particular case, they will file a bankruptcy petition on your behalf.  Once this petition is filed, your creditors will be notified of the filing, the case number, the trustee that will oversee your case, the date assigned to the Meeting of Creditors and the deadline they must meet for filing any objections to the debts or debtors identified in your filing. 

Additionally, the creditors will be advised on their options in this case and will receive instructions regarding the process for filing an objection in this case.  If no objections are filed in your case within the time period specified, the court will proceed with the bankruptcy. 

In a chapter 7 bankruptcy, the court will issue a discharge order, non-exempt assets will be liquidated, and their proceeds will be distributed to the appropriate creditors. 

In a chapter 13 case, payments will be made to creditors as outlined in the court-approved payment plan.  Regardless of chapter, once all payments have been made, the bankruptcy case will be closed.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 9:03 am

What is required of you before you file bankruptcy in Atlanta?

Since the passage of the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), filing for bankruptcy has become a much more complicated process. 

In order to complete a bankruptcy filing, you will now be asked to provide much more information than you would have previously.  Additionally, because these laws were enacted to discourage unnecessary bankruptcy filings, you will now have to fulfill more qualifications in order to file a bankruptcy. 

As a result of these new requirements, it is in your best interest to consult an Atlanta bankruptcy attorney before you make the decision to file for bankruptcy.  A legal professional can help guide you through this complex process as well as assist you in evaluating all of your options for rebuilding your financial life. 

The best place to start is by evaluating your current financial situation.  The 2005 law actually mandates that bankruptcy filers complete a consumer credit counseling course prior to filing their bankruptcy.  The organizations approved to provide this counsel are listed on the U.S. bankruptcy trustee’s Web site. 

The law requires that these courses cost the debtor no more than $50.  The debtor will receive a certificate of completion at the end of this course and should bring this with them to their meeting with their selected Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer.  The certificate will be included in your bankruptcy filing. 

Another step you should take in preparation for your bankruptcy filing is to request copies of your current credit reports.  These reports will show all of your creditors and the amount you owe to each. 

There are three national credit reporting agencies:  Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.  There are also several Internet sites that will combine the information from the three agencies and provide you with a free report. 

All of this information will help you and your Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer develop a plan that will be best for you while satisfying the more stringent requirements of the BAPCPA.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:28 am

Bankruptcy In Atlanta Stops Foreclosure, Repossession

If you are facing mounting bills, constant, harassing calls from collections agencies and fear that you may be facing a home foreclosure or auto repossession, you may be wondering how to file for bankruptcy in Atlanta, Georgia. The first step is to consult with an experienced Atlanta bankruptcy attorney.

The good news is that in many cases, filing for bankruptcy will immediately stop foreclosure, repossession, and credit collections.  This is the result of the “automatic stay” provision, which automatically stops all creditor actions as soon as a bankruptcy has been filed. 

The changes to the bankruptcy law enacted in 2005 limit this provision in the case of second and subsequent bankruptcy filings.  As a result, if you are filing a second chapter 13 bankruptcy case within one year of the dismissal of your first, the automatic stay will only be in effect for 30 days after the filing of the new case. 

If your home is about to be under foreclosure, a chapter 13 bankruptcy filing will stop this process.  Remember that in Atlanta foreclosures take place on the first Tuesday of each month.  If your foreclosure is quickly approaching, you will need to coordinate this timing with the timing of your Atlanta bankruptcy filing. 

A chapter 13 bankruptcy filing also may stop vehicle repossession.  You will be able to verbally notify any repossession agent of your bankruptcy filing and retain your vehicle.  If your vehicle has already been repossessed, you may still be able to recover it as a result of your chapter 13 bankruptcy filing. 

Again, if this is a second or subsequent bankruptcy case, your ability to recover any of your possessions that have already been repossessed is limited. 

The automatic stay created by your bankruptcy filing may also suspend any pending lawsuits which have been filed against you.  This is true regardless of whether you file a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 9:11 am

One In Eight Georgia Homeowners Behind On Mortgage

A report issued by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that 1 in 8 Georgia homeowners was delinquent or in foreclosure in the last three months of 2008.

The association said that 223,000 Georgia homeowners behind on mortgage payments or already in foreclosure was a 16 percent increase from the numbers for the third quarter.

The report also said that homeowners with subprime mortgages were more likely to be having trouble, with roughly 35 percent of Georgia residents with those types of loans either delinquent of in foreclosure. 

With unemployment rates continuing to climb, Georgia’s economic woes are likely to get worse before they get better.

Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending in December 2008 rose more than 20 percent across Georgia. In the Northern District of Georgia Bankruptcy Court, which serves Atlanta metro, the number of bankruptcies filed reached 40,122, up 24.1 percent from the 32,320 cases filed in 2007.

As a bankruptcy law firm, we  recommend that those in danger of losing their home to foreclosure seek advice about a possible bankruptcy filing as soon as possible. Georgia law allows for the foreclosure on your house to go through relatively quickly with little notice to you.

Getting the advice of an experienced Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer can help you keep your home.

Filed under: Bankruptcy News — Tags: , , , , — Rob @ 8:26 am

Stall Tactics Helping Homeowners Delay Foreclosure

An Associated Press story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution highlights a Florida attorney who has developed a stall tactic that has mortgage servicers wanting to foreclose on homes scrambling to find documentation that proves they in fact own the loan. Homeowners across the country have used the legal move to delay or stop foreclosure proceedings and stay in their homes.

After being served with foreclosure notice, the homeowner files with the court seeking proof of the lien by asking that the lender produce the original mortgage paperwork.

Since the paperwork is often stored in dedicated facilities, it may take weeks or even months to find the documentation delaying the foreclosure. Sometimes, mortgage lenders have been unable to produce the documentation of the loan and the foreclosure is stopped by the courts.

Since the foreclosure process in Georgia is much quicker than in some parts of the country, it requires that homeowners be on top of their situation. Knowing you have missed a couple of mortgage payments, you need to be on the lookout for a notice in your local paper and anything that may be sent to you in the mail regarding a foreclosure.

If your financial situation has deteriorated to the point that you are struggling to make your housepayment, you should talk to a Georgia bankruptcy attorney about your options.

Filed under: Bankruptcy News — Tags: , , , — Rob @ 10:25 am

Job Losses Continue To Rise, Expect More Bankruptcies

Georgia’s Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims in the state surged 81 percent in January over numbers for January 2007. The department’s numbers indicated that 120,139 people in the state filed for unemployement benefits.

Experts expect that the rise in jobless rates will result additional bankruptcy filings.

“Consumers are under great financial stress, with no immediate end in sight,” said Samuel J. Gerdano, American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) executive director, in an article in the Dallas Morning News. “We expect the upward spike in personal bankruptcies to continue in 2009.” 

According to the ABI, consumer bankrupcy filings rose 33 percent in 2008 over numbers from the previous year. A poll conducted by the ABI predicted that bankruptcy filings would jump at least 35 percent over the 1 million consumer bankruptcies filed in 2008.

If job losses continue to mount, the spike will likely be in Chapter 7 bankruptcy that will clear most unsecured debt. Without income to make payments on a Chapter 13 repayment plan, there is little chance that consumers in the Atlanta metro area would qualify.

 


Filed under: Bankruptcy News — Tags: , , , , — Rob @ 12:15 pm

Qualifying For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

If you are considering filing bankruptcy in Atlanta, you need to know that you have to qualify in order to file a Chapter 7 case under the rules set by the  Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 .

Understanding the rules of the bankruptcy process can be complicated and confusing. It is best to speak to an Atlanta bankruptcy attorney if you are considering bankruptcy.

Your household income is used to determine if you qualify for Chapter 7 bankrupcty or if you would have more disposable income available to payoff a portion of your debt.

First compare your income to the median income for your area. Below is the median income for Georgia as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau as of October 2008.

  1. One person –  $39,253 
  2. Two persons – $52,055
  3. Three persons – $59,668
  4. Four Persons - $68,908

If your household income is less than the median income, you will automatically qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Atlanta. If it is higher, there are quantifiers that could still qualify you for Chapter 7 protections. Speak to an Atlanta bankrutpcy lawyer to find out if you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

 


Filed under: Bankruptcy News — Tags: , , , , , — Rob @ 2:08 pm


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