Massachusetts Attorney Concentrating in Bankruptcy Law
How bankruptcy helps
To take responsibility and control over your finances again and get a fresh start so that you can become a productive member of our economic society.
Also you may just need a little more time to find another place to live before a foreclosure happens or prevent eviction. As well as being protected from any potential deficiency balance, it does no one any good to be perpetually stuck in a cycle of debt that cannot get paid.
As an attorney specializing in bankruptcy law, I always say that if you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel within a year or so on your own, then you may need legal help from a bankruptcy expert. This is when you should consider whether or not bankruptcy is the next appropriate step. If it is, then bankruptcy can be a good financial planning tool.
Depending on your financial situation, and the type of bankruptcy that applies to your circumstances, your debts can be discharged in as little as 60 days from the date of the 341 Creditors meeting. (Chapter 13 bankruptcies take last 3-5 years before a Discharge Order enters.)
When lien stripping is appropriate, we can remove judicial liens from a home and that debt on your home becomes unsecured and therefore discharged as part of your bankruptcy. This is something that can only be done as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. Otherwise that lien stays on your property for up to 20 years accruing interest at the statutory rate until its paid off. This can seriously affect your equity or whether or not you will be able to sell their house for any profit.
What will happen if I don’t file?
Foreclosure, lawsuits, liens, garnishments and/or attachments and several years of bad credit. Not to mention the ill effects caused by the financial stress (i.e. divorce, depression, etc.)
For example when you buy a house, you take out a loan. That is your promise to repay the money you borrowed by signing a Note. However, the lender needs more than that. It wants collateral. So in addition to the Note, you give them a Mortgage. The Mortgage is what gives the lender the right to take the real estate, via foreclose, if you do not repay the Note as promised. Foreclosure is therefore the process by which the lender takes its collateral by selling it at auction to generate money to pay down on the Note. If the foreclosure sale does not get enough money to payoff the amount you owe, then you are still responsible for the balance to the lender. However, a bankruptcy discharge protects you from ever being sued for that debt. Moreover, if the bank forgives that balance, it will send you a 1099, and you may have to pay taxes on that forgiven “income”. A bankruptcy discharge eliminates both of those consequences.
The same principle applies to a financed vehicle or any other secured debt. This is why in bankruptcy, unsecured creditors like those issuing credit cards, usually get nothing in a chapter 7 or very little in a chapter 13, because they have no collateral and are therefore completely unsecured.
We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the bankruptcy code.
Need a Consultation?
With over 25 years of experience and dedicated personal customer service, the Law Offices of Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore P.C. are here to provide unsurpassed professional and confidential legal advice and representation.