If you are looking to file bankruptcy in Staten Island, you have come to the right place. Individuals behind on bills look at filing bankruptcy in Staten Island as a way out. Filing bankruptcy is never an easy decision and having a Staten Island bankruptcy lawyer by your side, can ensure that your bankruptcy in Staten Island is handled correctly.
Learn How to File Bankruptcy In Staten Island
The First step to file bankruptcy is to learn enough about the process to ensure that you are making the right decision. Our bankruptcy law firm provides numerous resources on our website to help you become knowledgable with the bankruptcy process.
The first part of the process is determining if you need to file for bankruptcy. Some questions that you should ask yourself are:
- Can I not afford my bills?
- Can I not afford my monthly payments?
- Do I not have any savings?
- Am I being garnished?
- Do I not have a steady flow of income?
- Are creditors calling me?
- Are creditors threatening to sue me?
- Are my credit cards in collections?
If the answer to most of these questions is yes, then filing bankruptcy in Staten Island is something you probably want to look into. When you file bankruptcy, there are two chapters individuals can qualify for, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. A chapter 7 bankruptcy is for individuals who have low income and assets with little equity. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy, is for individuals who make more money and have assets. Both chapters of bankruptcy can help you if you are struggling to pay your debt.
A typical person who files bankruptcy is someone who is struggling to make ends meet. Often individuals who file bankruptcy are drowning in large credit card debt and suddenly face some type of hardship (loss of income, divorce, injury, medical expenses). These hardships cause penalties, fees and unpayable amounts of debt.
Bankruptcy laws were enacted to help people who fall into unfortunate circumstances get relief. Bankruptcy allows individuals to get a clean slate or a “fresh start” on life. Filing bankruptcy can wipe away debt so that individuals don’t have to spend the rest of their life with burdensome, unpayable debt.
Individuals often associate bankruptcy with negative thoughts. Many assume that when you file bankruptcy, your assets will not be protected. New York exemptions laws, provide a safety net for people to file bankruptcy and keep their property. As long as a person’s property falls within an exemption, the creditors can’t take it.
There is a lot of information about bankruptcy that individuals are unaware of. Speaking with a bankruptcy attorney can be a good way to find out more information about filing bankruptcy.
Filing bankruptcy can be a complicated process, but with an attorney, it can make the bankruptcy process much easier. Keep in mind that when you file bankruptcy it is important, to be honest. If you hide assets or commit any type of fraud, this can cause delays and even worse can lead to your debts not being discharged.
Certain steps need to be taken to file bankruptcy in Staten Island. Below we will look at some of the steps in chronological order that will need to be taken to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in New York. Hiring a bankruptcy lawyer to help you can help you understand each step and what needs to be done. Every case is different and speaking with a lawyer to ensure your case is handled properly during the legal process is vital.
Filing a Bankruptcy Petition in Staten Island
- Bankruptcy petition: Every Staten Island bankruptcy case begins with a Petition. The Petition is a document that includes all of your basic information, debt, and assets. The bankruptcy petition is what the Bankruptcy Court will use to determine if you should get a discharge. Some many complex laws and rules go into preparing a bankruptcy petition. For many, this can be long, time-consuming and confusing. Having an attorney to help you with your bankruptcy petition can make for a much easier process.
- Depending on what Chapter you file, your petition will either be a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. Both chapters of bankruptcy help individuals who are struggling to pay their bills. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, you will need to come up with a plan to pay off your debts. This plan can be very confusing. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan uses your debts, income, and assets to determine how much disposable income is left over to pay creditors. A bankruptcy plan will have to be confirmed by a judge. There are many rules about how to make payments, when to pay, how creditors are classified that a bankruptcy lawyer can help you with.
- As soon as you file a bankruptcy petition, an “automatic stay” is initiated that prevents creditors from collecting any debts against you. This is one of the strongest protections that you get when you file bankruptcy. An automatic stay can stop wage garnishments, bank levies, repossessions or any lawsuits initiated by creditors.
- Once a bankruptcy petition is complete, it will need to be filed with the Bankruptcy Court. If you live in Staten Island, the Bankruptcy Court that your case will be filed in is in Brooklyn. Many individuals who live in Staten Island are often surprised to learn there is no Bankruptcy Court in Staten Island. Bankruptcy Court is Federal Court and is broken up into districts.
What Happens After I File My Bankruptcy Petition?
- After filing your bankruptcy petition, you will receive a notice in the mail to attend a “Meeting of Creditors.” The meeting will be where you meet with a Bankruptcy Trustee who is assigned to your case. During this meeting, the trustee will ask you questions about the information that you provided in your bankruptcy petition. Usually, this is a brief meeting as long as you comply with all of the requirements. Sometimes creditors show up to these meetings to object to a discharge. In most cases, creditors don’t show up to the meetings. If everything goes well at this meeting, you should be good to go. However, any problems at this meeting could be a red flag for the Trustee that something isn’t right.
- If the Trustee closes your meeting of creditors, the bankruptcy process is soon to be over. If you filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, you should receive a Notice of Discharge in the mail 90 days after your meeting of creditors. During this time creditors still have a chance to object to your discharge and start an adversary proceeding. If you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, you should have already started making your plan payments. After about six weeks, you will need to attend a confirmation hearing where your lawyer will ask the judge to approve your repayment plan.
- Adversary Proceeding: You may be wondering what adversary proceedings. An adversary proceeding is where a creditor asks the Bankruptcy Court to refuse to discharge your debt. Creditors often start an adversary proceeding if they feel you have fraudulently charged a large amount of debt before filing bankruptcy. Another common reason is fraud. Fraud can be an indication that you should not be granted a bankruptcy discharge. Some things that constitute bankruptcy fraud are lying about assets and property.
The Bankruptcy Discharge
- The Bankruptcy Discharge is an order granted by the Court saying that you no longer have to pay back your debts. If there are no problems with your Chapter 7 bankruptcy and once you have completed your repayment plan to your creditors in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will get a Notice of Discharge. A Notice of discharge should be kept with your important papers. If any creditors say that you owe them money, you can use this as proof that your debt was discharged.
Rebuilding My Credit After Filing Bankruptcy
- A good bankruptcy lawyer will help you start rebuilding your credit after filing bankruptcy. There are many good tips that a bankruptcy lawyer can tell you, to help you start rebuilding your credit. Many of our clients have had perfect credit within two years of filing bankruptcy. Our bankruptcy lawyers will work with you step-by-step to ensure that your credit score improves after filing bankruptcy.
The Bankruptcy process can be long and difficult. Depending on the difficulty of your case it can take anywhere from three months to five years. Depending on where your case is filed will determine how much time it will take. In Brooklyn, you can receive a bankruptcy discharge in about three months. If a creditor initiates an adversary proceeding this can hold up the bankruptcy process.
Our bankruptcy lawyers can ensure that the steps to filing bankruptcy are done correctly. We work with our Staten Island bankruptcy clients every step of the way. Karra L. Kingston Esq. Serves New Jersey and New York. You can contact us at 973-979-9078 or email us at karra@klkbankruptcylawyer.com