If you are unable to meet your monthly debt repayments, if your credit card statements are simply getting more and more in arrears and your medical bills remain unpaid for months on end, you might have only one alternative: file for bankruptcy. If you live in Massachusetts, contacting bankruptcy lawyer, Matthew Desrochers, is a great first step to understanding your options.
What precisely is meant by bankruptcy? This is a legal term which refers to someone applying to the courts to erase all his debt so he can start from scratch again. If you are therefore in a position to actually pay your debts, your application is unlikely to be successful. Reasons which the bankruptcy court normally accept are large and unexpected medical claims, losing your employment, or marital problems causing financial havoc in your life.
When your lawyer submits your application to be declared bankrupt to the court, they will inform all your creditors about this. A first meeting of creditors will then be arranged, more or less thirty to forty days after the application filing.
During this meeting your lawyer must submit to the court a complete overview of your financial matters. This has to clearly show your monthly expenses and income and also contain a list of everything you own and owe. From there on you can refuse to directly deal with your creditors.
If your application is approved, the terms will be made known to everyone involved. Unfortunately all your assets will form part of the now bankrupt estate. You will therefore not be able to keep anything, except those assets which have been exempted by the court.
To receive a free bankruptcy consultation, contact Matthew Desrochers at (857) 244-1940 or fill out the form on the right.
In today economic climate many people are turning to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and attorneys for assistance. The Law Offices of Matthew T. Desrochers, P.C. has helped many clients overcome their financial difficulties and WE CAN HELP YOU. When I meet with clients I often have to demystify common misconceptions of bankruptcy.
I have attached several myths and responses to those myths for your review.
Myth #1: It is difficult to file for bankruptcy.
False. The new bankruptcy laws have drastically reduced the time it takes to be discharged from bankruptcy down to an average of nine months. In today’s economic landscape, it is understandable that individuals need to file for bankruptcy in order to start over. A qualified, experienced bankruptcy lawyer can make the process as simple and painless as possible.
Myth #2: You will lose everything you own.
This one of the biggest misnomers deterring people from filing. Bankruptcy laws do vary from state to state, but every state has exemptions that can protect certain assets, such as your house, car, qualified retirement plans, household goods and necessary clothing. You can choose STATE or FEDERAL EXEMPTIONS when you file. The STATE exemptions vary in each state and FEDERAL or nation-wide. Call Attorney Matthew T. Desrochers to discuss your exemptions
Myth #3: You will never get credit again.
Quite the opposite, actually. Before you even get home from the courthouse, your mailbox could be rich with credit cards offers again. The catch is that they will be from subprime lenders charging very high interest rates. In fact, if you have a credit card with no balance at the time you file, you may not have to include it in your list of creditors, since you don’t owe them money. You may even be able to keep the card after the bankruptcy is finished.
Myth #4: If you are married, both spouses have to file.
This one is tricky, but not entirely true. It is very uncommon for one spouse to have a significant amount of debt in their name only. If there are debts that a married couple wants to get discharged in which they are both liable for, they will need to file together. If only one spouse files for bankruptcy, the creditors usually demand the entire payment from the spouse who didn’t file.
Myth #5: You can only file for bankruptcy once.
You can actually file for bankruptcy more than once, but the new bankruptcy laws extended the amount of time in between filings. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be filed for once every eight years and a Chapter 13 filing once every two years. If you want to file for both on separate occasions, there is a four year wait in between the two filings.
Myth #6: Everyone will know you filed for bankruptcy.
Unless you are a very prominent person or a major corporation and the media gets word, the only people that will know about your filing are your creditors. These days, the amount of people filing is so immense that very few publications have the time, space or inclination to run anyone’s name.
If you are thinking about filing for bankruptcy in Massachusetts; you must look for a bankruptcy lawyers that focus exclusively on bankruptcy law, Matthew T. Desrochers, P.C. Bankruptcy Law. Every day, Matthew T. Desrochers help people save their homes, their cars, and wipe out their debts from $5,000 to $300,000. No other law firm is better qualified to bring you the fastest debt relief, and do it right the first time. For a free consultation, call (857) 244-1940 or fill out the form on the right.
According to this article from Nolo:
The means test was designed to limit the use of Chapter 7 bankruptcy to those who truly can’t pay their debts. It does this by deducting specific monthly expenses from your “current monthly income” (your average income over the six calendar months before you file for bankruptcy) to arrive at your monthly “disposable income.” The higher your disposable income, the more likely you won’t be allowed to use Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
New Median Income Numbers
The new median income is $53,315 for 1 person, $69,204 for 2 people, $82,297 for 3 people, and $99,293 for a family of 4.
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