Why Atlanta Bankruptcy is Worth It

Filing bankruptcy anywhere has big benefits. For Atlanta residents in financial trouble, filing can truly change your life. How?

Saves Money
We go over the ways bankruptcy can save you money on Georgia Debt Law all the time, but it bears repeating. After all, the many debts you have can be discharged, the many assets you own saved, and all by filing. However, this is not always your best option. Yes, in terms of saving money, it may be the best decision you can make, but you can only file bankruptcy so often, it takes time to file, and sometimes you have alternatives. If you’re unsure, a free consultation with an Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer can help you decide.

Stop Creditors
Creditor harassment is another big benefit. You can technically stop it without filing bankruptcy, but if you want to be free of both the debt and the phone ringing all the time, filing bankruptcy can help. They have no reason to contact you after you file. If they continue, refer them to your lawyer. This may seem minor until you start getting many, many calls on a daily basis.

It Gives You a Second Chance
Financially, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can definitely give you a second chance. You were hurt, and received a $50,000 hospital bill because you have no insurance. Or you lost your job and had $20,000 in credit debt which keeps on getting bigger. The reasons for why are many, but you can get a second chance by filing. It’s about improving your financial future. Consider that, if you just pay the interest on a $25,000 debt for a few months, for that price you can file with the courts and hire a bankruptcy lawyer – and be free of the debt. This is how bankruptcy helps.

Not Easy, But Timely
In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can also get a needed second chance, and a timely one at that. Georgia itself has some scary numbers when it comes to foreclosures, especially in the Atlanta area. The good news is the economy is rebuilding, but if you want to keep your car, home, as well as other properties and assets, Chapter 13 bankruptcy can literally buy you the time needed to pay off debts. Also, other debts you have are not always paid in full, so you save time and money.

An Atlanta Bankruptcy Lawyer Can Help
How do you get the ball rolling if you want to file Atlanta bankruptcy? You need a lawyer. Contact 5-10 and ask for a free consultation. The prices will vary, but focus on availability and experience more than price. You want one capable of helping, but of course not out of your price range.

Bankruptcy is worth it. It may not be in the cards for you, but you won’t know until you start crunching the numbers with an experienced lawyer. Bankruptcy may be the best possible decision you can make.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , — jmalewitz @ 9:29 pm

Why File Atlanta Personal Bankruptcy? And How To Get Help

Personal bankruptcy for Atlanta residents has clear advantages over its alternatives. Maybe bankruptcy sounds like you’re throwing everything away. However, few lose anything in bankruptcy in terms of assets, most can be free of tens of thousands in debt, and many can stop foreclosures on Atlanta homes.

Hiring a Lawyer
You will need to consult with an Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer immediately. Just as no two people are alike, no two bankruptcies are alike. You can read all the blogs and articles possible, but still lack the ability to prove why you deserve bankruptcy, how the laws work, how best to discharge the most debt, and what happens if you’re not eligible. An experienced Atlanta personal bankruptcy lawyer saves you valuable time and helps you clear debts and keep assets.

Filing Individual or Joint Bankruptcy
Individual bankruptcy and joint bankruptcy are different in that if you’re married, it can be advantageous to file together. If you are not married, it doesn’t matter. However, if you and your spouse owe debts, filing together can protect you from collections, stop creditor harassment, and give you a fresh start. Joint bankruptcy can also save you money in filing fees and in hiring a lawyer, and protect your spouse from collections if only you file. In some cases, individual bankruptcy is preferred even if you are married, but you should consult with your lawyer.

Are you eligible?
For Atlanta bankruptcy filers, you are eligible based on the median income for all Georgia residents. This is in terms of Chapter 7 bankruptcy eligibility. If you make more than the following numbers, you have to file under Chapter 13.

Family Size 1: Annual Income $40,691
Family Size 2: Annual Income $55,258
Family Size 3: Annual Income $61, 104
Family Size 4: Annual income $68,502

Chapter 13 eligibility is the same for all Atlanta residents as it is for the entire country. Secured debt, debts like your home and car, cannot exceed $1,010,650. Unsecured debts, such as credit and medical debt, cannot be more than $336,900. In the majority of cases, you are eligible for at least one form of Atlanta bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 Advantages for Credit Card, Medical, and Mortgage Debt
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the prime solution when it comes to handling debts you simply cannot afford. Say you have $100,000 in medical debt; you went to the hospital with no coverage and were charged for several weeks of time; in this case, Chapter 7 can truly save you from having to pay this immense debt.

Chapter 13 Advantages – Foreclosure and Beyond
Atlanta and Georgia in general have been hit hard by home foreclosures.  Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop this. An experienced lawyer can help you successfully file, save you from losing your home to foreclosure as well as stop collections on your car among other valuable assets, and give you the time to pay back these debts.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , , — jmalewitz @ 3:02 pm

What If You Miss a Chapter 13 Payment?

There are many roads to Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You may find the advantages such as keeping your home and car make paying some or all of your debt the best option. Or maybe you make too much money for Chapter 7, and want to get a repayment plan you can afford.

We hear many questions on Georgia Chapter 13 bankruptcy, especially what happens if you miss a payment. Here are some answers.

If You Miss a Payment
If you miss a Chapter 13 payment, you still have options. If you take no action, the court will dismiss your case. But, you can modify the payment plan so you can better afford it, or apply to have payments suspended for several months. A Georgia bankruptcy lawyer can be invaluable in this part of the process. If you don’t have an experienced lawyer, hire one immediately. This can save your repayment plan from being dismissed.

Can you cancel a Chapter 13 plan?
Chapter 13 is voluntary – you can quit any time you want. You just won’t have all your unpaid debts discharged. If you feel it’s not working for you, it’s relatively simple to cancel the case.

You Lose Nothing
In most cases where you miss a payment, you are not in definite danger of your plan being dismissed and losing all assets. As long as you modify the payment plan or suspend it, you are safe. Courts are designed to help you with creditors, not take all your money and offer no real guidance.

Can you file again?
If your plan is dismissed, you can file again (and not wait years). This occurs if your debts have not been legally discharged. The bankruptcy laws won’t stop you from filing again. If you’re discharged, the regular bankruptcy laws are in effect and you have to wait some time to file again.

Advantages of Georgia Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
If you miss one payment, you won’t be alone in this process. Hopefully you’ve hired an experienced Georgia bankruptcy lawyer who can help you in and out of court. This process takes some time: Chapter 7 takes months, Chapter 13 years. That means you definitely need a professional lawyer to guide you through this process. You can reap the rewards of Chapter 13, saving your home, car, and other assets from creditors, while paying in installments you can afford.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , , — jmalewitz @ 9:12 pm

When is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy The Best Option?

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is used about 75% for filers nationwide, with the other 25% being used on Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Why? Chapter 7 can be more effective in discharging large unsecured debts. In many cases, Chapter 7 is the better option. However, there are times when filing Chapter 13 is in your best interest. This blog guide shows you why.

Eligibility
As this guide is designed for Georgia bankruptcy filers, it’s important to note eligibility for Chapter 7 bankruptcy differs from state to state. However, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is governed by federal law and eligibility is the same nationwide. The most common reason that Georgia filers choose Chapter 13 is when they are not eligible for Chapter 7. If you make more than the Georgia median income, Chapter 13 is your only recourse.

Save Your Home
There are other times when filing Chapter 13 is much more in your best interest. The most common reason is the difference between secured and unsecured debt. Secured debt, such as your home and car, can be taken back if you fail to pay by taking the asset. Unsecured debt, on the other hand, includes medical and credit card debt. For secured debt, if you fear losing assets such as your home, Chapter 13 is very smart. For unsecured debts, debts you simply cannot afford, Chapter 7 can discharge these debts in a matter of months.

The focus here is on when Chapter 13 is better. Say you fell behind on your Georgia home mortgage payments. In this case, Chapter 7 does not help you; you can discharge the mortgage but you will only buy a few weeks to stay in the home. With Chapter 13, you can stop the foreclosure proceeding before it begins, effectively saving the home which you likely put time, money, and love into. That’s overlooked by many filers: if your home is on the line, Chapter 13 is very effective.

Other Advantages of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
There are other times when you cannot discharge a debt. For example, you can’t discharge tax and student loan debt in Chapter 7. Instead, you can file Chapter 13 and pay these debts in more affordable installments. Also, if you have nonexempt property which will be lost in Chapter 7, you can again keep the property and pay installments.

Clearly there are reasons to consider both. However, remember that you have both options when it comes to filing. If you’re still unsure, contact a Georgia bankruptcy lawyer. An experienced lawyer will quickly be able to see the best choice for you to make.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , , , , — jmalewitz @ 3:27 pm

Creditors and Filing Georgia Bankruptcy

By nature, creditors are nice when paid, but once you start missing payments, the relationship can go downhill. Of course, it makes sense that creditors want their money, just like you want your money from an employer. However, many creditors and debt collection agencies treat you inappropriately. It’s something you deserve to be angry about if they’re calling you night and day, being rude, and generally ruining your day.

Is this really that big of a problem? Yes, creditor harassment is a very big problem. In fact, 2009 saw creditor harassment not only continuing, but on the rise. Even in 2010 creditor harassment is still a major problem. Studies pointed out that debt collection agencies and creditors in general caused more complaints in 2009 than in 2008. This is common during tough economies, you might think, but it doesn’t make it any better. For one, creditor harassment to most extents can be illegal. There are tens of thousands of complaints to the Federal Trade Commission every year. For example, in just the first half of 2009, the Federal Trade Commission Reported 45,000 complaints about debt collection agency practices, a significant increase over the first half of 2008.

What are creditors doing to cause complaints? It may seem obvious – calling people like you night and day. Contacting your work. Contacting outside family members. Calling you into the night or very early in the morning. Some are even contacting consumers asking for payments on things they never bought. Still more are saying people owe more money than they really do.  In the worst of cases, creditors are acting like some form of government or law enforcement agency, threatening seizure of assets like homes and cars if no payment is made.

So there are a lot of reasons for complaint. What can you do? If you’ve truly fallen behind in debts, you may think paying them gets creditors off your back. In fact, you may be paying on the wrong debts or nonexistent debts. You will never be arrested for debts, unless a court orders it (which is quite rare). If they threaten to take your wages, it’s usually beyond their ability to do so unless they win in court against you. If they threaten to take your home, there is some truth in this statement. Technically, creditors can take you to court and obtain a lien on your property; that’s if they win in court; chances of that are slim.

You can stop creditor harassment in a variety of ways. If you really have a lot of debt, filing Georgia bankruptcy is one move to make. But don’t do it just because you have creditors harassing you. If that’s the case, you can write the creditor a letter asking them to stop contacting you; by law they must agree to this. Bankruptcy has many advantages, and stopping creditor harassment is one. Creditors will have no reason to call you anymore once the courts are involved; if they continue to call you, refer them to your lawyer.

Creditor harassment works because they strike fear in you. Take back control of your life. If you’re unsure of your rights, contact a lawyer.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information, Bankruptcy News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — jmalewitz @ 1:57 pm

Options to File Bankruptcy In Atlanta Georgia

You have many options when it comes to bankruptcy – which form of personal bankruptcy, how to handle creditors, how to handle debt not discharged or paid, and perhaps often ignored but still important, what bankruptcy lawyer to hire. This blog guide gives you the key options for filing bankruptcy in Atlanta, Georgia.

What Form?
Well, we go over the forms of bankruptcy often on this blog, but if you’re new to Georgia Debt Law, you may wonder exactly what your options are. You have Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Each form has different positives and negatives, which an experienced Atlanta bankruptcy attorney can help you with.

Chapter 7 is used over 75% of the time by Atlanta residents; it discharges major debts such as credit and medical debt. Chapter 13 is your only other option, but it’s benefits can be supreme – save your home from foreclosure and keep your other assets.

No matter what you choose, you may wonder how creditors should be handled.

Creditors Do What?
Technically, after you file bankruptcy creditors have no more reason to contact you. In some cases, they might appeal your bankruptcy, still hoping to get their money. Most of the time these attempts fail, but be mindful if the appeal is made. You can, even before bankruptcy, write letters to your creditors asking them to stop contacting you. By law they have to. If you file, and they continue to call, refer them to your Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer.

What Debts are Discharged?
In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the biggest debts discharged are credit card, medical, and mortgage debt. Some debts cannot be discharged, including alimony, child support, and back taxes.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is different, as you’re only discharged from the debts after your debt repayment plan is finished.

What Lawyer Should You Hire?
You want to file Atlanta bankruptcy, but when it comes to lawyers experienced in Georgia law, you’re just out of options. Hiring a lawyer is neither a race to find the first one nor the search for the cheapest. There are many experienced Atlanta bankruptcy lawyers who show value, because, after all, by doing this you’re saving far more money and assets than you lose.

Yes, hiring an experienced lawyer can be hard. You have many options in Atlanta. You do likely have a budget – most bankruptcy lawyers charge flat rates for helping you file successfully. Query 5-10, compare rates and experience, and give one a try.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , , , , — jmalewitz @ 2:38 pm

How Much is Your Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney Worth?

Your Atlanta bankruptcy attorney can be worth far more than you pay them, especially if you hire the right one. Why are time better than others? Why not save money on one and hire the cheaper attorney? What should you look for in terms of experience?

Before you even hire a bankruptcy attorney, you should have a plan. You need to be direct in asking things like cost, experience, and availability. You should not hire the first one you find, or solely based on a reference. An attorney can be far more valuable if they have experience.

The Costs
How much will it really cost to hire a bankruptcy attorney? Typically, your paying a flat fee and sometimes an additional hourly fee for extra work. The flat fee is very typical, and called a retainer. This should be negotiated so you can afford it and based on the attorney’s experience. Most fair and experienced Atlanta bankruptcy attorneys will charge from $1,000 to $2,500 for a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case. They are far more valuable than this. When you think about it, you can discharge tens of thousands in debt. If you have a mortgage you want to get out of, some extremely high medical bills,a and high credit card debt, you could save tens of thousands of dollars for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Atlanta Chapter 13 is preferable if you want to keep your home; attorneys are valuable here as one can help save your home from foreclosure.

The Time
While your attorney won’t spend hundreds of hours on your case, his or her experience will shine by making that time more than worth it. They can make sure your eligible, the most debt is discharged, and that the entire court process is smooth. Typically, your attorney will handle all in court work, while you only have to appear briefly.

Creditors
If you’re facing creditor harassment, how much value would you put on ending it? Likely, very much. Technically creditor harassment should end after bankruptcy, but during bankruptcy you can refer them to your attorney. He or she can handle them from now on.

The Knowledge
Attorneys are blessed with skills honed in higher education, but the best knowledge comes from hard work and experience. No single article can teach you all you need to know about bankruptcy, but an experienced attorney can. Their knowledge makes them worth far more than you’re paying them.

Mistakes
Scared you won’t file correctly? If you are unsure if all the documents are correct, if you’re really eligible, or on how the process works, an experienced Atlanta attorney can help.

Success
The best part is that you can either successfully discharge thousands if not tens of thousands of debt with Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or save your home, car, and other assets from being taken with Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The right Atlanta attorney is most valuable when they can save you money.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — jmalewitz @ 1:56 pm

Advantages of Hiring an Atlanta Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney

If you file with the Georgia Northern District Bankruptcy court, you’ll see how complex the process can be. Who can help?

No matter your personal bankruptcy choice — Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 — you might wonder how a lawyer actually helps. With Chapter 7, it’s clear that the 341 meeting, where you’re asked questions and creditors can optionally participate, is about gathering information. If you fear you’ll lose assets, you may consider filing Chapter 13 Atlanta bankruptcy.

Why file Atlanta Chapter 13?
Since Atlanta as a city has very high foreclosure rates in the past years, Chapter 13 is being recommended by expert lawyers to help residents save their homes. Simply put, Chapter 13 bankruptcy  is the best way to save your home. For Atlanta residents, there are details.

You must be eligible. You must create a repayment plan. And you will have to appear in court to explain your situation.

According to the U.S. government, “Any individual, even if self-employed or operating an unincorporated business, is eligible for chapter 13 relief as long as the individual’s unsecured debts are less than $360,475 and secured debts are less than $1,081,40.” Secured debt  would be debt backed up with collateral,such as your home. Unsecured debt is the opposite: you are backing it up with nothing.

The debt management plan includes details on what creditors you owe money to, how you intend to pay, among other things. This will be how you intend to stay solvent on paper.

What does an Atlanta Chapter 13 lawyer do?
Say you want to know more about the process of Atlanta Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Who do you call? You can find information online, but you really need an experienced attorney to help with your case. For example, you may not be eligible for Chapter 13, but Chapter 7 is wise (or the other way around). Also, in Chapter 13, usually in about 30 days you have a 341 meeting with the U.S. trustee. An experienced attorney can help you in in the meeting and make sure your proposal for debt management is sound.

The attorney can do far more than answer questions. A good one will help you with the proposals, documentation, requirements, and save you time and money doing so.

How will creditors act?
Creditors are technically still going to get their money in most cases. If you have difficult creditors, an experienced Atlanta Chapter 13 attorney can handle them for you. They do have the option to appear with the trustee at the 341 meeting, but most don’t. You will rarely have any more dialogue with creditors you owe money to after any form of personal bankruptcy, usually during it too.

How do you get started?
To get started, you should hire an experienced attorney, prepare all necessary documentation, pay the fee for filing, and create a proposal for your debt management plan.

Is an Atlanta Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer really important?
Finally, the question may come up: can you do all this alone? Yes, you can. Even if you have legal experience, the paperwork, 341 meeting, creditors, and dangers of making mistakes, however, are far too great to ignore. Atlanta Chapter 13 bankruptcy will change your  life, and is important for your financial future. Hiring an experienced attorney makes the process much easier.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , , , , , — jmalewitz @ 12:29 pm

How Bankruptcy Helps with Atlanta Mortgages and Foreclosures

While the economy is improving, the simple fact is foreclosure rates were “scary” high in 2009. The number of foreclosures in Georgia, especially Atlanta, were some of the highest in the nation, accounting for a good number of the total for every state.

Atlanta particularly has been hit hard, perhaps one of the hardest of any city in the U.S. Metro Atlanta in particular had many subprime mortgages–and now these mortgages are nine times more likely to go into foreclosure.

The problem is in how these mortgages were laid out. Obviously, it was a big mistake to allow such a high number of subprime mortgages, but it happened across the country. Even scarier, most of these Atlanta mortgages are going the way the rest of the country is.

Worry not, because the economy is clearly improving. While the last quarter of 2009 was very high in terms of foreclosures, especially in Atlanta, the economy is slowly rebuilding and unemployment lowering.

That doesn’t help you unless you can avoid losing your Atlanta home. This post will walk you through the process of choosing between forms of personal bankruptcy, hiring a lawyer, and avoiding foreclosure.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy – The Good and Bad
The good news with Chapter 7 is that you can at a minimum buy extra time to live in your home before foreclosure, and the mortgage can be discharged as part of filing. The bad news is, you will most often lose your home through foreclosure. This is supposed to help avoid foreclosure, right? It’s still good to consider Chapter 7. An experienced Atlanta attorney can tell you 1) if you’re eligible and 2) what you can save. If you are a single resident of Atlanta, for example, you cannot make more than $40,546 and file.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – The Answer to Foreclosure
Federal law allows most all cases to be taken under Chapter 13 unless you have hundreds of thousands in debt. This is the same across every state in the country.

Chapter 13 is truly the answer to saving your home. First,  this givesyou protection. Immediately after filing at the Northern Georgia Bankruptcy Court (for Atlanta residents), an “automatic stay” will be given by the court. This effectively delays and potentially stops the foreclosure so the bankruptcy proceeding can occur.

Next, you can restructure your payment plan to your Atlanta lender. You must stay current on your mortgage in order to keep your home, and you also should file Chapter 13 before you fall too far behind in payments or it won’t work (if the foreclosure process is started, you cannot stop it in most cases).

Hiring an Atlanta Lawyer
The State Bar of Georgia and your computer are all you really need in order to get help avoiding foreclosure. You want a lawyer who specializes in bankruptcy, has experience in helping avoid foreclosures, and can educate you on the advantages and disadvantages. Price may be an issue, so be sure to ask the fees before hand. Filing bankruptcy itself is very cheap, but lawyers can sometimes be expensive.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information, Bankruptcy News — Tags: , , , , , , , — jmalewitz @ 12:40 pm

5 Benefits of Filing Bankruptcy in Atlanta, Georgia

The state of Georgia has an unemployment rate above the national average, at above 10 percent. The city of Atlanta has an unemployment rate in which has come close to almost 11 percent, but fell in March of 2010 to 10.4 percent. This is good news for the unemployment in Atlanta and across the state of Georgia, but how does it apply to you?

If you’re thinking of filing bankruptcy in Atlanta, you are not alone. As unemployment rises foreclosures increase, credit cards are maxed out, and many bills go unpaid. The answer to this may seem different: filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Filing bankruptcy is clearly advantageous. Personal bankruptcy, which comes is Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, is about getting a fresh start financially.

Bankruptcy has been far more common in recent years because of known issues with the economy. Many Atlanta residents were forced to declare Chapter 13 in order to avoid home foreclosure. In August of 2009, a study by a counseling agency pointed out one in five people who intended to file bankruptcy planned to do so to save their homes from foreclosure.

If you file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 in Atlanta, you must go to the Northern Georgia Bankruptcy court, which serves all city residents.  Before you go there, think about the following advantages.

1-Credit Debt
Chapter 7 bankruptcy typically eliminates most credit card debt. Chapter 13 can buy you time to pay back bills.

2-Job Loss
If you lose your job in Atlanta — an unfortunate event — you may be forced to file bankruptcy for any number of reasons. If you do, understand it’s not giving up; filing is about getting a second chance and to protect you and your family.

3-Medical Bills
Medical bills can pile up over night. Chapter 7 can help with these bills.

4-Foreclosure
If you fear you’ll lose your Atlanta home, as stated earlier you are not alone. One in five Atlanta residents file bankruptcy to protect their homes from foreclosure; Chapter 13 protects your home if you can stay current on bills.

5-New Perspective
Finally, by filing bankruptcy with the Northern Georgia bankruptcy court and working with an attorney,  you’ll see the fresh perspective it gives you. If you are in need of help, if you fear losing your home or everything you own, consider filing before it gets worse.

Filed under: Bankruptcy Information — Tags: , , , , , , — jmalewitz @ 1:23 pm


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