I never stop being astonished at the falsehoods about bankruptcy and its outcomes which I hear from people who don’t actually know much about it. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that your creditors, whose interests are the opposite of yours, might try to discourage you from filing bankruptcy.
As long as they are accurate in their assertions about bankruptcy, I’m all for them articulating their viewpoints. Sometimes, however, I have heard of creditors as well as their agents lying about bankruptcy and its consequences in an obvious attempt to keep individuals who owe them
money in financial debt.
Folks frequently feel that if they file bankruptcy they will be unable to obtain any credit for 10 years.
This is absolutely incorrect.
I've had many clients who have been able to obtain loans on new automobiles immediately after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge. I have had a lot of customers who were able to acquire vehicle loans while in Chapter 13 bankruptcy also.
Clients frequently tell me they are deluged with charge card offers even prior to acquiring a Chapter 7 discharge. Even acquiring a new mortgage loan may be possible two years after finishing Chapter 7
bankruptcy and one year after filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
I frequently hear journalists carelessly throwing around the word “bankrupt” just as if it means that an individual is virtually without assets. This is often not true.
I’ve had many clients obtain debt relief under Chapter 7 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy who held houses worth well over a quarter million dollars.
The truth is that a client who files Chapter 7 bankruptcy is able to retain their house if the client keeps current on the mortgage repayment and doesn't have more than $15,000.00 in equity in the home. The same principle relates to being able to keep a car, except the allowable maximum equity is $3,000 for any vehicle in Chapter 7 bankruptcy or $6,000 if the bankruptcy is filed jointly by spouses and both spouses’ names are on the car title.
My advice to individuals who are experiencing financial obligations they can’t afford to repay on time is to look into the truth about bankruptcy instead of listening to the creditor hype and press hype about it.
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