Jacksonville Chapter 7 Attorney

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is designed to help you get a fresh start. It will allow you to discharge (eliminating the legal obligation to pay) any unsecured debt. Unsecured debts include credit cards, medical bills, and unsecured loans. They also include amounts due on vehicles that have been returned or repossessed and rent and other fees for an apartment you have lived in recently. Personal loans are not included. Although this is not a complete list of unsecured debts, it should give you an idea about the types of debt that can and cannot be discharged under Chapter 7. Domestic support obligations (child support, alimony, and child support), student loans, and tax debt are all prohibited from being discharged. A Jacksonville chapter 7 attorney will help stop garnishments on your wages and bank accounts, and creditors cannot take any action against you in order to collect.

Is Chapter 7 Right For Me?

When deciding whether a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case would be the best option for you, there are many things to take into consideration. You must first determine if Chapter 7 will achieve your goals when you file for bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 case is recommended if you are overwhelmed with credit card debt, medical bills, personal loans, or credit card debt. A Chapter 13 case is better than a Chapter 7 one if you are behind on your mortgage, rent, and car payments. Chapter 7 cases deal primarily with your unsecured debt. You should be current or able to get current within a few days of filing your Chapter 7 case. If you wish to keep the property, you must be current on your payments to secured creditors. A Chapter 7 case may be right for you if you’re interested in giving up the property or you want to stop the creditor from trying to pursue you for any difference between what you owe the property for and what they can sell it for.

What If I Qualify For Chapter 7?

You need to decide if Chapter 7 is the right option for you. You will be eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy if your annual gross household income falls below the Florida median income for a household of the same size. To find out if your household’s annual gross income is higher or lower than the median, you can visit.

Your household’s gross income does not have to be higher than the median income. However, it does not mean that you are not eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A means test will be required. This examines your monthly income and allows for IRS deductions. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is only available to you if you have no or very little disposable income at the end of the month. A common misconception is that the bankruptcy filings must only include the income of the person filing. This does not apply to the income of spouses or family members. The bankruptcy code requires you to report your total household income. Your Jacksonville chapter 7 attorney may ask for proof. You may need to obtain paystubs from your spouse or children who are not filing.

What Are Bankruptcy Exemptions And How Do They Work?

When deciding whether Chapter 7 bankruptcy is right for you, the third thing to consider is whether or not you have assets that the Trustee may want to liquidate in order to pay your creditors. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is technically a liquidation of assets and a discharge from unsecured debts. You may be able to use exemptions to preserve a portion of your equity so that you don’t have to give up any of your property to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It is best to consult a Jacksonville chapter 7 attorney when you are trying to determine if you may have an equity problem in filing Chapter 7. You could lose your home, family property, or vehicle if you file. You must ensure that you do not have equity in any property that can be exempted. Also, make sure that you have not previously transferred any property that could allow the Trustee to reverse the transfer or liquidate the property. The Trustee has extensive powers to reverse or undo property transfers. The Trustee can “step into the shoes” of a creditor and use any applicable nonbankruptcy law for property transfers. An experienced Jacksonville chapter 7 attorney can help you with property transfers to prevent you from losing property that you have transferred over many years.

What Will Chapter 7 Protect Me From?

An automatic stay is put in place when you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. This prevents creditors from taking any collection action against your property. Unless you have had any prior cases dismissed in the last 12 months, or you are giving up property, the automatic stay will continue for the length of the case. If the Chapter 7 case is filed before the landlord obtains a judgment for possession), repossessions or foreclosures, garnishments, and civil litigation to collect a debt will be stopped. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy case will not pay any arrears for apartment rentals, homes, or vehicles. You should expect to give up the property as soon as you file the case unless the creditor agrees to something. The speed at which the creditor attempts to retrieve the property will determine how long you have.

What If I Want To Keep My Property?

A creditor might request that you sign a “reaffirmation agreement” with respect to property if you file Chapter 7 cases. Reaffirmation agreements “put you back on the debt hook” by indicating to creditors that you want to keep the property and continue making the payments.

Reaffirmation agreements with creditors have their pros and cons. A reaffirmation agreement will allow the creditor to report your payments to credit reporting agencies. This will help improve your credit score. The creditor may work with you to refinance your debt if you are eligible. If you have any problems with your payments and want to sell the property, the creditor may pursue you for any resulting deficiency. The creditor will not take the property if you don’t sign a reaffirmation arrangement. However, they won’t report your payments to credit agencies and may not be able to work with you in the future to refinance the property. If you don’t sign a reaffirmation contract and decide to give up the property in the future, the creditor can not pursue you for any alleged deficiencies.

What Can Bruner Wright P.A. Do For Me?

Chapter 7 was created in order to help financially disadvantaged individuals and families get a fresh start. An experienced Jacksonville chapter 7 attorney will help you if you think you might be eligible to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. You need a bankruptcy lawyer in Jacksonville FL has helped thousands of people with their bankruptcy cases. We will help you to overcome the financial and emotional burden of debt through our vast knowledge of the bankruptcy process. We offer a free consultation so that you can ask questions and determine if Chapter 7 is right for you.

Contact Bruner Wright P.A.

Bruner Wright P.A. is a top-rated experienced law firm servicing the Florida Panhandle and the South Georgia area. Our practice has been very successful in helping people discharge their debts and handle both bankruptcy and foreclosure. We offer a personal service that is comprehensive and thorough in all aspects of our industry. We are responsive to the needs of our clients.

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Contact us today to schedule a consultation to speak to a bankruptcy attorney about bankruptcy and foreclosure. A member of our team will review your case to help you make the right choice. We are focused on personal chapter 7 bankruptcy, chapter 13 bankruptcy foreclosure, and business bankruptcy chapter 11. We want you to achieve financial stability.