| We begin our representation by evaluating the details of your situation and advise you about how best to proceed. Not all of our recommendations are to file for bankruptcy. Sometimes, it pays to wait because filing is not a good strategy to achieve the desired result.
We explain the available options and the foreseeable results. If a client wants to file for bankruptcy to stay a foreclosure action, we use our knowledge of foreclosure law to evaluate whether it is best to try and deal with the problem in another way, avoiding the need for a bankruptcy filing.
The benefit of filing for bankruptcy relief is that if done properly, the result is an “automatic stay” which stops lawsuits and collection efforts against the debtor.
We assist clients with filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, which commonly requires the debtor to relinquish all property not exempt under the law. The appointed bankruptcy Trustee then sells this property to pay the creditors. The debtor is then granted a discharge of the debts. Orenstein & Kandel, LLP can prepare and file the petition for you and will also represent you at the Creditor’s Meeting (341 hearing).
If you are one of the many people who feel guilty about filing for bankruptcy, here is something which you may want to consider: Filing a petition and receiving a discharge will allow a Debtor a “fresh start” by gaining relief from most, if not all of one’s debts;
The filing of a petition in court will, stop most creditors and collection agencies from continuing to harass you through the mail and with excessive phone calls;
If you lost a license due to nonpayment of a fine or judgment, it can be restored;
Your credit can be repaired over time, all is not lost. Credit agencies will report the Chapter 7 filing for 10 years but thereafter, it is removed from your credit report entirely.
Debtor’s prisons have been abolished. You will not be sent to prison for failing to meet your financial obligations. Despite what the collection agencies may tell you.
Your personal property (normal wearing apparel, household goods, and furnishings) are exempt and will not have to be given to your creditors or the Trustee handling your case. Also, certain types of income is also exempt, such as social security benefits, unemployment benefits, public assistance, and most pensions. Each State has its own list of exemptions.
Even if you are unemployed and have no income you can file a Chapter 7 petition.
Property that you acquired after filing your Chapter 7 petition is not subject to seizure as property of your estate unless it was owed to you when you filed or was received within 6 months of filing by inheritance, devise or bequest, or by property settlement with a spouse or as payment from a life insurance policy;
You may file a Chapter 7 petition as a legal resident non-citizen and not hurt your chances of obtaining U.S. citizenship;
It not immoral or wrong to file bankruptcy as reflected in the U.S. Constitution provided you are not doing so for an improper purpose. It is even contemplated in a bible passage.
"At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother because it is called the Lord’s release." (Deuteronomy 15:1-2)
Orenstein & Kandel, LLP can also help you file your bankruptcy petition under Chapter 13. If you have regular income, you can develop a plan to pay off your debts over a period of three to five years. This plan should be approved as long as your creditors would get at least as much as they would have if you filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition. Our representation will continue to insure that your plan is confirmed and your debts are discharged.
“We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code” |