Bankruptcy Attorney in Bucks County, PA
Are you considering filing for bankruptcy in Bucks County? Contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney today to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation. You will be able to ask your lawyer questions about your specific financial situation and discuss possible solutions to your debt problems.
Are you tired of struggling financially? Contact the Law Offices of David M. Offen to schedule your consultation. We will help you get a fresh start.
How a Bankruptcy Attorney Can Help You Improve Your Life
The bankruptcy lawyers at the Law Offices of David M. Offen have over 20 years of experience helping people in Bucks County solve their financial problems.
Whether debt settlement, Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the answer will depend upon the facts of your unique financial situation and your goals. We work closely with you to determine which course of action will get you out of debt and back on your feet.
Our bankruptcy lawyers know how difficult it is for you to make ends meet right now, much less consider paying filing fees and attorney fees. We pledge to work with our clients by offering affordable fees and bankruptcy filing payment plans.
Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Bucks County, PA
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is called “liquidation bankruptcy,” but don’t let that scare you. While the Chapter 7 trustee does have the power to seize and sell your property and belongings for the benefit of your creditors, the bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of David M. Offen can apply “exemptions” to place your assets beyond the trustee’s reach. We have helped thousands of Chapter 7 filers in Bucks County keep their property.
What Happens in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
Typically, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case lasts from four to six months from the date of filing. A Chapter 7 debtor will disclose all income, expenses, assets, and debts in their petition and schedules. The debtor and their attorney will meet with the Chapter 7 trustee, and the debtor will provide proof of identity and answer some questions about their financial history under oath.
Once the trustee is satisfied, they will file a certification of no objection to your discharge. Then, as long as no creditors object to your discharge by the deadline, you will be discharged of your unsecured debt.
What is a Chapter 7 Discharge?
“Discharge” means you are no longer responsible for paying that debt, and your pre-petition creditors cannot try to collect that debt. The following debts can be discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy:
- Credit card debt
- Medical debt
- Personal loans
- Mortgage (if surrendering your house)
- Car loan or lease (if surrendering your car)
- Some income taxes
What Problems Can Come Up in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
Several. Here is a list of actions that can happen in a Chapter 7 case if your attorney does not counsel you carefully and help you avoid making mistakes:
- Trustee objection to your discharge
- Creditor objection to your discharge
- Creditor motion to lift the automatic stay to foreclose on your home or repossess your car
- Trustee seizure of your property and belongings
- Trustee motion to dismiss your case for bankruptcy fraud
- U.S. Trustee files criminal charges for bankruptcy fraud
Most of the time, any one of these actions will tank your Chapter 7 case and you will not receive a discharge. However, these actions are avoidable. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of David M. Offen have helped thousands of Chapter 7 clients’ cases proceed smoothly, without issues or foreseeing any issues and resolving them proactively, and closing with a discharge order.
Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Bucks County, PA
If you have steady income and need to catch up on your mortgage, car payments, or child or spousal support payments, our attorneys will discuss the possibility of filing Chapter 13 with you.
Chapter 13 is a repayment plan where you catch up on past-due payments over three or five years by making monthly payments to the Chapter 13 trustee, who in turn pays your creditors. You might also pay a small amount of your unsecured debt if you have enough disposable income.
When the plan is complete, you are caught up with your debt obligations and you are discharged of any remaining unsecured debt.
Bankruptcy and Debt Relief FAQs
Not necessarily. If you can afford to pay your mortgage payments, and your attorney can exempt the equity in your home so that it is unavailable to the trustee, you can keep your home. If you have fallen behind on your mortgage or are in foreclosure but can afford to pay the mortgage plus a catch-up payment each month, you can file Chapter 13 bankruptcy and keep your home.
The fact that you filed bankruptcy will appear on your credit report for up to ten years. While a bankruptcy filing will negatively impact your credit score initially, many debtors find that their score improves shortly after bankruptcy because their unsecured debt was discharged and their debt-to-income ratio improved dramatically.
You can defend yourself, if you believe you do not owe that debt. If you do owe the debt, you may be able to settle that debt for something less than what you owe. However, if you owe the debt and cannot pay it or anything close to it, you might consider filing bankruptcy and getting it discharged.
The day you file bankruptcy the “automatic stay” goes into effect, “staying” or stopping all collection actions against you, including lawsuits.
Chapter 7 is a four- to six-month liquidation process. In reality, most Chapter 7 debtors are able to exempt their property from the bankruptcy estate, so usually nothing is liquidated, and the debtor received a discharge of unsecured debt.
Chapter 13 is a three- or five-year repayment plan during which debtors can catch up with past-due payments such as mortgage payments, car payments, child or spousal support payments, and government fees or fines.
Yes. Bankruptcy can eliminate unsecured debt such as credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans.
No. While your filing is not a secret in that all bankruptcy filings are public records, only people having training in and access to the PACER/ECMF electronic filing system can see your bankruptcy filing. These people are usually court personnel, creditors, attorneys, and their staff.
Contact Your Bucks County Bankruptcy Attorney for Help
We know that if you are being harassed by creditors or even sued, time is of the essence. Our bankruptcy attorneys will work with you to resolve your financial situation as expeditiously as possible and help you get your fresh start. Call The Law Offices of David M. Offen today — what do you have to lose?
