Chapter 7 and Your Bankruptcy Lawyers Guidance | FilingForBankruptcyOnline.com

Filing bankruptcy in California for an individual can provide debt relief whether a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is filed. Chapter 13 bankruptcies typically apply to those individuals with household incomes greater than their state’s median income and the capability to pay approximately 25% of their total balance of debts over time.

Bankruptcy Consultation: Requirements and Strategy

Filing bankruptcy under a Chapter 7 requires a household income of less than the state median and/or an inability to make material payments on balances. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer can help you start the process with an initial consultation to determine the best strategy to follow in order to get the most optimal result for your personal situation. This consultation will also include an analysis to confirm that the results of your “means test” will qualify you to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition.

Exemptions and Asset Review

Your Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition will include all the creditors and accounts you wish to include in your bankruptcy filing. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is considered to be liquidation but bankruptcy exemptions will allow you to keep your home, vehicles, and personal property items. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will also list non-exempt items as well but, generally speaking, bankruptcy exemptions cover a vast majority of a Chapter 7 filers possessions. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer can review your assets prior to the filing to make sure the property you want to keep is covered by bankruptcy exemptions.

Mortgage Considerations

In the case of payments owed on a home or a vehicle a Chapter 7 provides relief only while the process is underway, meaning that payments must be brought current shortly after the conclusion of the bankruptcy. The time from the filing of the bankruptcy petition to the conclusion of the process usually takes about four months. If you anticipate that you will not be able to bring payments current at this time, your Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer will be able to provide options in terms of your home and/or your vehicle.

Discharge of Debt

Once a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is completed, the bankruptcy court discharges all unsecured debts, leaving you with no further obligations to make payments to these creditors. The types of unsecured debt which will be discharged by the court include balances owed on credit cards, medical bills, department store debt, signature loans and more. This full discharge of debt is one of the main reasons the credit card companies urged Congress to overhaul the bankruptcy code in 2005. The overhaul made it tougher to qualify for this type of bankruptcy, but working with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer can ensure that you receive all of the benefits provided by the process.

The attorneys at Zhou & Chini specialize in helping their clients get the full measure of benefits available to them through the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process. For a free initial consultation call us at (800) 972 9600.

From the author: Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorneys

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