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FAQ's About Your Sugar Land Bankruptcy
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I am several months behind on my mortgage payments and the
mortgage company has threatened to foreclose on my home. Can anything be
done to save my home?
-
I
have not made my car payment in a few months and the finance company says it
will repossess my car if I don't them everything now. I need my car to go
to work. Is there anything I can do to stop them?
- What is the difference between a Chapter 7
and Chapter 13?
- I have a lot of credit card debt and bill
collectors keep calling me. What can I do to make them stop?
- If I file bankruptcy, will I need to appear in
court?
- What if someone has co-signed a loan for me and
I file bankruptcy?
- How does a bankruptcy affect my credit
rating?
I am several months
behind on my mortgage
payments and the mortgage company has threatened to foreclose on my home. Can
anything be done to save my home?
If you are unable to work out a payment plan
directly with your mortgage company, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy may allow you to
save your home. Once a bankruptcy is filed, your creditors must stop all
collection activity against you, including foreclosure proceedings. The past
due amounts you owe the mortgage company will be paid through the Bankruptcy
Trustee (the person assigned by the court to administer your bankruptcy). While
you are in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must still make your regular monthly
mortgage payments and keep current with your payments to the Trustee to prevent
the mortgage company from being allowed to go forward with foreclosure.
If you are unable to work out a payment plan
directly with your lender, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy may allow you to keep your
car. Once a bankruptcy is filed, your creditors must stop all collection
activity against you, including repossession. You can pay for your car two ways
in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy depending on your individual circumstances, including
how much you owe on the car and its market value. 1) you can pay for the entire
amount you owe on the car through the bankruptcy; or 2) you can pay only for the
past due amount through the bankruptcy. If you pay only the past due amount
through the bankruptcy, you must continue to pay your regular monthly car note
to the lender.
[Typically, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is filed
to obtain a discharge (you will no longer be responsible for payment) of an
obligation to pay unsecured debt when a debtor is not in jeopardy of losing
secured property such as a house or car. A Chapter 13 is typically filed by a
person with regular income when they get behind in their house, car or other
secured obligations. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy unsecured creditors are paid a
percentage of the debt they are owed depending on the circumstances of the
individual debtor.
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Under most circumstances credit card debt
would be dischargeable (you will no longer be responsible for payment) in a
bankruptcy. Once you file a bankruptcy, bill collectors must stop all
collection activity against you, including telephone calls and letters. If
collection activity persists notify your lawyer immediately.
All bankruptcies require that you attend a
creditor's meeting, where the Trustee (the person appointed to administer your
bankruptcy) will review the documents provided when the bankruptcy is filed.
Occasionally one of your creditors will attend this meeting. Your lawyer will
attend with you.
In a Chapter 13bankruptcy, there is also a
confirmation hearing, where the judge will sign the plan you propose to repay
your creditors. You will only have to attend that hearing if your attorney
tells you to.
If the loan was unsecured (no property was
pledged to make sure you repay the loan), then even if you obtain a discharge,
the co-signer will be responsible for payment. If the loan was for secured
property (house, car, furniture) no action will be taken against the co-signer
as long as the payments are made.
A bankruptcy will stay on your credit report
for 6 to 10 years. Each creditor has its own system of evaluating your
creditworthiness for future credit.
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