When you fall behind on your mortgage payments, your lender may have legal recourse to reclaim your home or property. There are, however, ways to protect yourself against foreclosure, such as filing for bankruptcy to put a repayment plan into place. To learn more about your options to prevent the loss of your home, call our Northbrook consumer law attorneys at (847) 440-5998.
You are protected under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Under this act, it is illegal for a creditor to harass you in order to collect on a debt. This means you are protected from abuse such as incessant calling after hours, calling your place of work, your friends, or your family, threatening or insulting you, slander, misrepresentation, and a variety of other harassment techniques. In addition, once you have retain a lawyer and filed for bankruptcy, creditors are required to send all communications through your attorney. It is important to know that you have rights and that they should be protected.
Our bankruptcy attorneys take the time to look at your business's assets to determine if it is viable, even if you may not have turned a profit in a while. If so, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy may be an option you can pursue. In this chapter, you can reorganize to form a repayment plan that allows you to stay on top of your debts. Manufacturers, retailers, restaurants, and other types of businesses have all benefited greatly from Chapter 11, finding financial freedom from creditors, liens, excessive tax penalties, and lawsuits after filing.
Chapter 7 allows you to discharge certain unsecured debts, such as medical bills and credit card debt. It allows you to sell some assets to start paying back your debt. Many filers do not lose any of their property. You must undergo credit counseling before filing, you cannot have had a bankruptcy discharge in the last eight years, and you will not be eligible for Chapter 7 if a Chapter 13 repayment plan is better for your situation based on your income and financial circumstances.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy, on the other hand, sets up a repayment plan if you have a steady income. Chapter 13 allows you to repay your unsecured debt while discharging other debts to form a more manageable payment scheme. Chapter 13 is thus right for those who are making an effort to repay their debts but are still overwhelmed by their bills.
