Absolutely not. Look, we know you want to pay your bills. We also know you want to take care of your family and provide them the things they need. However, if you can’t do both due to current circumstances, which is more important? The banks and lenders or your family? Of course your family is more important.
By filing for bankruptcy, you eliminate certain debts thus freeing up money to take proper care of your family. This allows you to place things in proper order, meaning putting your family first. Placing your family first is the proper and honorable thing to do. Taking care of your family first makes you a good person not a bad person.
Nearly one million families file bankruptcy each year. This is not because they are bad people. Many good, honest, hard-working people fall on hard times. Loss of jobs, unexpected medical problems or medical emergencies, failed businesses, and divorces are part of life. Life can get tough at times. Our government is aware of this and that is why they created bankruptcy laws to protect citizens in these situations. It allows families to escap crushing and destructive debt. Filing bankruptcy usually is a decision to place your family first and get a fresh start.

Often divorce, unemployment, unexpected medical expenses, or unexpected injury causes people to seek protection from creditors by filing chapter 7 bankruptcy. Usually, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is selected by people that have a large amount of unsecured debt such as credit card debt, personal loans or medical expenses that they are no longer able to pay.  This is the simplest form of Bankruptcy and typically results in a discharge order within a matter of months.  Because this discharge is simple and quick, it is selected by most people.

Bankruptcy law is very complicated. So, it would be extremely difficult for you to file on your own. However, it is easy to do with the assistance of an experienced Bankruptcy Lawyer. Once you have made the decision to file bankruptcy, our law firm will make the filing process easy for you.

Some of the debts Bankruptcy will not wipe out are:
    - child support, alimony, fines, and some taxes;
- debts not listed on your bankruptcy petition;
- debts obtained by fraud, i.e., knowingly giving false information to a creditor, who reasonably relied on it in making you the loan;
- debts such as judgments resulting from "willful and malicious" harm;
- student loans insured by government unless the court finds paying creates an undue hardship; (See Below for more information regarding student loans)

Yes, however, this only eliminates relieves the filer’s from his or her obligations.  The non-filing spouse will remain liable for all joint debts.  It may be advantages for only one person to file where one spouse has debts, or one spouse has debts that are not dischargeable.  If joint debts are involved, the fact that one spouse discharged the debt may show on the other spouses credit report.

You cannot. Doing so would be against the law. Bankruptcy Law requires you to list all your property and all your debts. Some people want to leave out a debt because it is their intent pay it. The good news is that you can choose to keep paying on a debt that was discharged in Bankruptcy. However, the underlying legal obligation to pay it has been removed.

Yes. The automatic stay prevents bill collectors from taking any action to collect debts.

In a chapter 7 case, you can keep all the property which is exempt from the claims of creditors. In determining whether property is exempt, you must keep a few things in mind. The value of property is not the amount you paid for it, but what it is worth now. Generally the trustee is interested in the resale value of your property so for most personal effects this is the garage sale value of your property.

You also only need to look at your equity in property. This means that you count your exemptions against the full value minus any money that you owe on mortgages or liens. For example, if you own a $50,000 house with a $40,000 mortgage, you count your exemptions against the $10,000 equity you have in the home. While your exemptions allow you to keep property even in a chapter 7 case, your exemptions do not make any difference to the right of a mortgage holder or car loan creditor to take the property to cover the debt if you are behind. If you are behind in payments and can afford to make the loan payment and to make the amount you are behind over a period of three to five years you should consider a chapter 13 bankruptcy.

In a chapter 13 case, you can keep all of your property if your plan meets the requirements of the bankruptcy law. In most cases you will have to pay the mortgages or liens as you would if you didn't file bankruptcy.

There is no clear answer to this question. Unfortunately, if you are behind on your bills, your credit may already be bad. Bankruptcy will probably not make things any worse. The fact that you filed bankruptcy, if properly explained, may be less damaging than a history of unpaid accounts.

The fact that you have filed a bankruptcy will appear on your credit record for ten years. But since bankruptcy wipes out your old debts, you are likely to be in a better position to pay your current bills, and you may be able to get new credit. The best way to restore your credit is to obtain new credit and make the payments on the new debt on time.

Truthfully, if your credit is already bad, you are more likely to get credit after filing bankruptcy, than if you didn’t. Filing bankruptcy eliminates debt. Eliminating debt makes you look more attractive to banks, credit card companies and other lenders. Once you reestablish a timely payment history with less debt than before, you are a far better credit risk than you were before you filed bankruptcy.
Many of our clients get credit card offers after receiving their bankruptcy discharge. Initially, banks, credit card companies and other lenders will want more money down and will charge you higher interest rates. But, so long as you: are careful, keep your job, start saving money, pay your bills, and do things that put good marks on your credit report, the quality of your credit will get better and better over time. If you have not re-established your credit in 2 to 4 years, to be able to buy or refinance a home, it's not because you filed bankruptcy. It usually means something else has happened after the bankruptcy that damaged your credit.

The timing of the discharge varies, depending on the chapter under which the case is filed. In a chapter 7 (liquidation) case, for example, the court usually grants the discharge promptly on expiration of the time fixed for filing a complaint objecting to discharge and the time fixed for filing a motion to dismiss the case for substantial abuse (60 days following the first date set for the 341 meeting). Typically, this occurs about four months after the date the debtor files the petition with the clerk of the bankruptcy court. In chapter 11 (reorganization) cases, the discharge occurs upon confirmation of a chapter 11 plan. In cases under chapter 12 (adjustment of debts of a family farmer) and 13 (adjustment of debts of an individual with regular income), the court grants the discharge as soon as practicable after the debtor completes all payments under the plan. Since a chapter 12 or chapter 13 plan may provide for payments to be made over three to five years, the discharge typically occurs about four years after the date of filing.

In chapter 7 cases, the debtor does not have an absolute right to a discharge. An objection to the debtor’s discharge may be filed by a creditor, by the trustee in the case, or by the United States trustee. Creditors receive a notice shortly after the case is filed that sets forth much important information, including the deadline for objecting to the discharge. A creditor who desires to object to the debtor’s discharge must do so by filing a complaint in the bankruptcy court before the deadline set out in the notice. Filing of a complaint starts a lawsuit referred to in bankruptcy as an “ adversary proceeding.” A chapter 7 discharge may be denied for any of the reasons described in section 727(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, including the transfer or concealment of property with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors; destruction or concealment of books or records; perjury and other fraudulent acts; failure to account for the loss of assets; violation of a court order; or an earlier discharge in a chapter 7 or 11 case commenced within six years before the date the petition was filed. If the issue of the debtor’s right to a discharge goes to trial, the objecting party has the burden of proving all the facts essential to the objection.

In chapter 12 and chapter 13 cases, the debtor is entitled to a discharge upon completion of all payments under the plan. The Bankruptcy Code does not provide grounds for objecting to the discharge of a chapter 12 or chapter 13 debtor. Creditors can object to confirmation of the repayment plan, but cannot object to the discharge if the debtor has completed making plan payments.