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Should I File for Bankruptcy?

Is the endless barrage of calls that you receive from your creditors driving you to drink? Are your on the verge of losing your car or home? Are you about to lose your mind because of the stress of being under a mountain of debt that is suffocating you. Thankfully,  the New Jersey Bankruptcy Center is here to help you and to get you back on your feet. How much would your life change if you could get some breathing room from your creditors. Your creditors don’t want to give you any type of break at all. They don’t want you to get the fresh start that is provided by the Bankruptcy Code. The last thing that your creditors want to do is to help you. The debt collectors who are calling you 24/7 couldn’t care less about whether you have lost your job or have gotten sick. They are like terminators and they have one goal and that is to make you pay your debts.

Well, I want to help you, and I understand fully how scared and uncertain you are feeling right now. I know that you feel very embarrassed about considering filing for bankruptcy. However, I am here to inform you that the majority of people who file for bankruptcy are just like you. They are good hardworking people who have lost their job, gotten divorced, or who were  just careless with their spending. They are hardworking people who just want to provide for their families and to keep a roof over their head. They are not trying to beat the system by not paying their bills. On the contrary, they want to pay their bills, but they find themselves in a series of events that is simply too overwhelming.

If you read this website, it is important to emphasize that you have options if you are in massive debt. One of these options is to file for bankruptcy. Contrary to what you may have heard you can still file for bankruptcy. Thousands of New Jersey’ites are filing every day. Moreover, close to one million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

Do Not Feel Guilty

Bankruptcy is about starting over fresh. It is about getting back in control of your financial future. Don’t feel any shame for considering bankruptcy. In today’s economy many people from all walks of life are in your situation. I have had clients who were making $150,000 plus last year and who used to live in very expensive homes. In a blink of an eye these same clients are down to collecting their last unemployment checks, and they don’t know where there next dollar is going to come from. Hard times can hit anyone, any time, and anywhere. In the modern world we have many young people who are in their early twenties who start out in life with $25,000 in debt (thanks to MasterCard/Visa/American Express) because of so called “free” credit cards. Who gives an such young kids $5,000 credit lines? The credit card companies certainly do!

Mr. Sliwinski, Esq. has handled almost two thousand bankruptcy since 1991. He has not once ever had a client who advised him that he regretted filing for bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy Is Not Your Fault

Take control and feel no shame about filing for bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy is not your fault. You can’t control the terrible economy, your job situation, your health, or that terrible divorce that has ruined your life. We live in a consumer society. The entire society has been brainwashed to charge away like a drunken sailor. However, you can now take back control of your life by contacting the New Jersey Bankruptcy Center. Stop the harassment! Stop the 10 to 20 calls a day that you receive from the obnoxious debt collectors! Stop the endless collection letters that change color ever month! Personally, I would get sick of receiving red colored letters every day.

The Credit Card/Debt Trap

The credit card companies have been begging you to charge up at 23% (some 24.99%) for many years. How many “account balance” transfer offers have your received? How many new extensions of credit have you received? Here’s the trap, after you have established a decent payment history with a credit card company, they up the credit limit. “Congratulations,” they say. Now that you have more credit of course you spend it. They will keep upping that credit limit until you can barely make the minimum payment. Now they own you. Now you must make the minimum payment on your MasterCard or Visa and you will be paying that debt for the next 35 years or more.

Don’t feel any shame about taking back control of your life. The only thing the credit card companies have to fear is the United States Bankruptcy Code and bankruptcy lawyers. That is why they lobbied Congress and spent more than  twenty five million to get the bankruptcy laws changed to protect them protect.

Credit Card Debt Management and Consolidation Services

Credit card counseling and debt management services – I don’t buy it. Countless clients have come to my office after using a debt management company. Most have advised me that these companies are scam artists. Many clients have come to me and they have asked me to try to get back their money from the credit counseling companies. Many clients have also advised me that the credit counseling company charged them more than a lawyer would have, and that they received no benefits by using the consumer credit counselor.

Please be further advised that if you break your contract with a credit counseling company, then you will lose all the benefits that you have gained – penalties and interest all gets put back. They are right there on your credit report as Credit Counseling Company. A negative mark that tells creditors that you are a bad credit risk. Consumer bankruptcy attorneys are about empowering you and letting you live again in peace. Stop hiding. Don’t you want to be able to answer your phone again, without fearing that it could be another collection call?

Obtaining Credit After Filing for Bankruptcy

Are you concerned about the state of their credit after filing bankruptcy? It is a hard cold fact that a bankruptcy discharge will appear on your credit report for 10 years following a discharge. This does not mean that you will not get a credit card, buy a home, or car for 10 years. Far from it, creditors want you to borrow. Shortly after your bankruptcy discharge, it is almost a certainty that you will receive a credit card offer. You will get credit following your bankruptcy.

Once a person files bankruptcy then they will have more disposable income. Therefore, many credit card companies, and car dealership will provide a debtor credit after they file. The reason why a debtor can restore their credit after they file is because; 1) The person no longer has a large debt load after the filing; 2) The person now has an ability to repay any new debts because their disposable income has been “freed up” and 3) the person can can’t declare bankruptcy a  chapter 7 again for eight years. Further, the probability of a consumer declaring bankruptcy a second time in their lifetime is very low.

Consumer Bankruptcy – Chapter 7 or Chapter 13?

The choice of the chapter depends on many factors individual to your situation, and is one of the most important reasons to get good legal advice before filing. Which chapter is best depends on the nature of your debt and the nature and value of your assets.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is the most common type of bankruptcy. Here, the debtor receives a discharge of most his unsecured debts only within several months of the filing the case. If the debtor’s income appears high enough to permit some repayment of debt, then the  trustee or the court may move to dismiss the case for “substantial abuse.” The underlying theory is that to permit someone with the ability to repay to file chapter 7 and avoid repayment abuses the bankruptcy system. This is termed “substantial abuse” – a catch phrase with the U.S. Congress.

If your debt is mixed business and consumer then it is important to know what the legal form of the business is. A sole proprietorship is treated for bankruptcy purposes as just one kind of asset of the individual who owns them; thus the owner of a troubled business must file an individual bankruptcy, including all of his assets and liabilities, personal and business, to obtain bankruptcy court protection.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 is frequently a better choice if you have debts that are not dischargeable in chapter 7; if you are in default on mortgages or car payments; if you have more property than can be exempted from creditors in a chapter 7; or if you owe taxes or other debts that are not dischargeable in chapter 7.

To be eligible for chapter 13, you must have regular income and debts below a certain level.

Debtors choose to file a repayment plan under Chapter 13 when:

• They owe debts not dischargeable in chapter 7 (such as taxes, child support, fraud judgments).
• They have liens that are larger than the value of the assets securing the debt.
• They have years of unfiled taxes.
• They are behind on car or house payments.
• Their assets are worth more than the available exemptions.