What Our Legal Service Can Do For You.
- Wipe Out Debt
- Keep Your Property
- Rebuild Your Credit
- Stop Creditor Harassment
- Stop Foreclosures
- Stop Wage Garnishments
- Stop Repossession
- Tax Debt Relief
Our Bankruptcy Legal Services
When it comes to bankruptcy legal services, Richard West Law Office has the experience and expertise you can rely on. Since 1986 thousands have trusted my reputation and experience to wipe out debt, key property and quickly rebuild credit. If you need to know all of your options for getting your bills under control, you’ve found the best website, bankruptcy versus non bankruptcy options. There are two ways to solve serious debt problems, bankruptcy, and non-bankruptcy.
The two non-bankruptcy options are debt management programs and debt settlement. And the two bankruptcy options are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, chapter seven is referred to as a straight bankruptcy or a liquidation bankruptcy. Although this is misleading because almost nobody ever loses property in a chapter seven.
Chapter 7 Legal Services
When you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you normally keep all of your property because most of what we own is protected by exemption laws. These laws protect your property from being lost in bankruptcy, up to a certain limit in a typical Chapter 7 you’ll discharge, unsecured debts, like personal loans, credit cards and medical bills, and agree to continue to pay for your home and your car. And you keep all your property
Chapter 13 Legal Services
Chapter 13, bankruptcy is referred to as a payment plan or debt reorganization. Most people think that you pay back your debts in a chapter 13, but sometimes my clients pay back nothing on two unsecured creditors and only pay for their cars at home. People often file chapter 13 because they need to catch up on missed house or car payments or because their income is too high to qualify for chapter seven.
Most people do not know that there is a lot we can do in chapter 13 legal services that is not possible in a Chapter 7; and in Chapter 13, you could pay less for your car than you owe on it. And in Chapter 13, you can actually lower your interest rate on car loans.
The means test when you are looking into bankruptcy options, you will find a lot of information about the means test, much of what you read is very confusing.
And a lot of what I see on the internet is just plain wrong. Even many attorneys misunderstand the means test. Some people think that if their income is over median for their family size, if they are not eligible for Chapter 7 legal services, but this is not true.
The key is to find a way to pass the means test. I explained the means test in the detail here on the website. And I tell you ways to pass the means. Test. If you need to file a chapter seven, non-bankruptcy options can work for you. If your debt problems are not too serious. And if you do not mind paying back, most of your debt management programs, negotiate payment plans with as many of your creditors is who will agree to it.
Not all will, it is totally voluntary, and you cannot force a creditor to go into a debt management plan with you.
Sometimes these can get lower interest rates and sometimes the creditors will actually lower the balance. Not by much usually, but every little bit helps.
Debt Settlement Legal Services
Debt Settlement is a very different animal than debt management and debt settlement. You stop paying the creditors and instead you pay the debt settlement firm. They hold your money and attempt to make lump sum settlements for less than what you owe. This can result in you paying less than you would pay in a debt management plan, but it can also get you sued.
And when you get to the debt settlement plan, we will have to refer you to an attorney who can provide those legal services. Typically, a bankruptcy attorney will file bankruptcy and everything you have paid into the program is wasted. Filing bankruptcy will usually get you a much better result and faster than non-bankruptcy options. Most people I speak with are afraid of bankruptcy because they think it will ruin their credit, but this does not happen to my clients because I’ve created a program to help rebuild credit.
After filing bankruptcy this way, you can quickly get a good credit score after discharging all of your debt, rather than paying it back in a debt settlement or management plan. Bankruptcy is often a better solution. More people should file bankruptcy than do. Sadly. I file bankruptcy for many people who have wasted years and thousands of dollars in failed, non-bankruptcy approaches worse than this. Many of them should not have been in these programs to begin with.
There is a lot to know about options to solve serious debt problems and everything you need to know is here on this website. If you have serious debt problems and need to compare all your options with a certified specialist, do not waste another day in debt or another sleepless night, wondering what to do, call me. I can help
For more information and an introduction to Bankruptcy in the United States visit the US Courts website.