How to File For Personal Bankruptcy
Copyright © 2005 Ben Fallison
Filing for personal bankruptcy means that you’ll be
protecting yourself from the creditors that you owe
money to. Bankruptcy, however, is a radical way to
achieve that protection. What bankruptcy does is take
away your debt so that you can make a fresh start when
it comes to your finances. If you’re considering filing
for bankruptcy there are certain things that you’ll need
to do so that it’s done correctly.
The very first thing that you should do is get in touch
with a lawyer who specializes in bankruptcy. You’ll
want to be working with someone who knows exactly
what is required and what steps you need to follow for
bankruptcy. When you first meet with the lawyer make
sure that you take along all of your financial papers,
including bills that you owe, a verification of your
monthly income, and statements from your bank.
You and the lawyer will need to determine exactly how
much money you owe. You’ll be including everything
that you owe so don’t leave anything out just because
you don’t want your debt load to appear too high. The
goal is to make a fresh start, so you don’t want any
forgotten debt to get left behind because you’ll still
owe it.
The lawyer will explain to you the difference between
secured debt and unsecured debt. Secured debt is debt
where your creditor will hold some type of secure
interest on what you owe until the entire amount has
been paid back. If you don’t pay back the amount owed
the creditor can take back what you’ve purchased, such
as your car. Unsecured debt is debt that isn’t secured
with interest and is not tied to property.
There are some debts that you may owe that can’t be
cleared by bankruptcy that you’ll have to pay back on
your own. This type of debt includes student loans,
child support, and any back taxes that you owe. Make
sure that the lawyer has all the information needed to
make an accurate application for bankruptcy.
Once you’ve determined all your debt you’ll be filing a
bankruptcy petition with the local courts in your area.
Your creditors will need to be contacted and notified
that you’ve filed for bankruptcy. Once you’ve filed for
bankruptcy your creditors will be unable to contact you
and won’t be able to collect any of the money that you
owe them.
Your debt will be settled by a trustee who is assigned to
your bankruptcy case. The trustee will be responsible
for paying your debt and being in contact with your
creditors. If you have any property it may be sold and
used to pay off your debt and, depending on where you
live, you may be entitled to some of the profit that is
made from the sale of your car, home, or other
property. In some cases you’ll be given an allowance
to live off for a certain period of time.
Filing for personal bankruptcy is a long and lengthy
process that will affect your financial outlook for
many years to come. Make sure that you have all the
information that you need before you decide to file for
bankruptcy.
Ben Fallison is a bankruptcy counselor and owner of
<a href="http://www.bankruptcyat.com">Bankruptcy At</a>,
a top Internet directory for bankruptcy information.
Get more great bankruptcy tips and tricks at
http://www.bankruptcyat.com
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