Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Get a Fresh Start on Your Future!
Find out If You Qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
 Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows you to discharge all or most of your debt and get a fresh start in life.
In order to qualify for Chapter 7 you will need to meet the income requirements. The first factor in determining if you qualify is looking at your income and the median income set for the State in which you live. If your income is equal or less than the median you will likely qualify as long as you meet the other requirements.
If your income is greater than the median you will have to pass the Means Test to see if you have any Excess Income. This is determined by a budget analysis which looks at your monthly required living expenses, taxes, and your income.
If you have Excess Income you won’t qualify for a Chapter 7 but may still be eligible for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
If you qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy you will be able to get rid of most of your debt.
Chapter 7 does not eliminate:
- Student loans, except extreme hardship cases
- Debts for most taxes
- Debts for alimony, maintenance or support
- Debts for fines, penalties or criminal restitution
- Debts for personal injuries caused by driving intoxicated
In addition to getting rid of your debt, you typically can keep all of your property. As long as your car and mortgage payments are current, creditors usually offer reaffirmation agreements which allow you to keep the property and continue to make the scheduled payments on the loan. We can explain the process to you during your first consultation.
Keep your home, keep your car, keep your personal belongings, but eliminate your debt; that is our goal. The Law Firm of Robert C. Hahn, III, may be able to use Chapter 7 bankruptcy to provide you with many benefits. Read about those benefits below and about other subjects related to bankruptcy.
Read the below alert that contains important information that you need to know!
More Information about Chapter 7
Stop Creditor Harassment
If creditors are bothering you at work, harassing your family, friends and neighbors, or calling at all hours, you can put an end to it immediately simply by hiring Robert C. Hahn, III, to represent you. Upon retaining our services, we provide you with a special telephone number so that you can refer your creditors to us. We will keep the creditors off your back, and you can stop paying your creditors immediately.
Eliminate Repossession Debts
After a vehicle finance company repossesses your car they auction it to reduce their loss. You are still responsible for the balance on the car, called a 'deficiency balance'. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy can eliminate your liability for the entire deficiency balance. Remove the risk of lawsuits and garnishments by filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Stop Garnishments
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is one of the most effective ways to immediately stop garnishments. Garnishments can diminish your hard-earned income making it nearly impossible for you to afford basic necessities. By filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and stopping the garnishment, you will be able to use your income for more important necessities in life and start saving for your family's future.
End Lawsuit/License Suspensions
Many states have imposed laws that allow the state to suspend your license if you failed to maintain liability insurance at the time of the accident. The Law Firm of Robert C. Hahn, III, can help you get your license reinstated if it is suspended due to an uninsured car accident or unpaid parking tickets. Our attorneys can also stop lawsuits related to those car accidents.
If you are being sued, and you own a home, we strongly urge you to speak with a lawyer immediately about filing bankruptcy. A bankruptcy will stop a lawsuit immediately and prevent your creditors from placing a lien on your home or garnishing your hard-earned wages
Rebuild Your Credit After A Bankruptcy
One of the most common concerns that we hear from clients has to do with the stigma related to bankruptcy. A basic characteristic of human nature is that people are afraid of things with which they are not familiar. Do not count out bankruptcy as an option until you have taken a short time to get educated on the subject.
The stigma against debtors has greatly diminished over the last 20 years, and there is no indication that debtors will be treated less favorably in the future. In fact, the ability to reestablish your credit after a bankruptcy is better than it has ever been before. Bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for up to 10 years, but you can start reestablishing your credit immediately.
First, let us define credit. Credit is your ability to borrow money. Many lenders determine whether or not to lend you money by examining your debt to income ratio; how much outstanding debt you have compared to your income. Remember that the reason that your credit is poor right now is because you have so much outstanding debt. Ask yourself, who would you rather loan money to; the person who has $20,000 in credit cards and could file a bankruptcy at any time, or the person who has already filed bankruptcy, has no remaining debt, and could not file another bankruptcy for another eight years.
Many of our clients are able to purchase a vehicle on financing the day they receive their bankruptcy discharge. Often times you will pay a percentage point or two higher than a person with unblemished credit, but ask yourself how low of an interest rate would you be able to get in your present situation. You should be able to finance a home within two years after receiving a bankruptcy discharge, as long as you can provide a minimum down payment and show the ability to make the monthly mortgage payment. Many consumer debtors receive credit card solicitations within months of receiving a bankruptcy discharge. Once you are a client, you are a client for life. We will not abandon our clients once they have received their discharge from the court. This is part of our commitment to you to provide quality legal representation for a fair fee.
We caution you against rumors of the bankruptcy stigma that you may hear from friends or family, who may not possess the knowledge of bankruptcy law necessary to give legal advice. They may have your best interests in mind, but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Speak with one of experienced bankruptcy professionals to make sure what you are hearing is the truth.
Mortgage lenders and automobile finance companies are usually more than happy to keep accepting your current monthly payments both before and after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This is called reaffirming your debt. They are in the finance business to make money, not to repossess your property. When the finance company reaffirms the debt, they have the comfort of knowing that you have no other outstanding debts, you cannot file bankruptcy for another eight years, and they can continue to collect the principal plus interest under the original loan agreements. The Law Firm of Robert C. Hahn, III, will make all of the arrangements for you to reaffirm your debts on your home, car or other household goods that you are financing.
If you have a debt owed to a credit union, such as a credit card or a car loan, and also have a checking or savings account through the same institutition, you need to bring this to your attorneys attention so you can get advise as to how to deal with the legal recourse of filing banrkuptcy. Credit Unions have a cross-collateralized interest in your checking and savings account and may choose to freeze your account until you reaffirm their debt. If you do not want to reaffirm your debt to the credit union, you may need to close that account and open a new bank account with a different institution or risk loosing your funds held by the creditor.
Low Fees
Once you have found an experienced bankruptcy attorney with whom you are comfortable, be sure his or her fee is fair. The Law Firm of Robert C. Hahn, III, provides you with very fair fees and gives you the client, a choice of several different payment plans to fit your individual needs. If you need your case filed quickly due to a garnishment, foreclosure or threat of repossession we may be able to file your case almost immediately and offer you a payment plan tailored to your situation. We offer a very low flat fee that can be paid off in installments over several months. Our firm will provide you with a range of fair fees right over the phone. We guarantee not to exceed the fee range you are quoted. And remember there are no hidden attorneys fees in that price. Under this payment plan you can hire us with as little as $100 and any balance will be spread out in a flexible payment plan.
Note: We are a law firm and under the bankruptcy code are considered a debt relief agent who helps people file for relief under the bankruptcy code.
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