Foreclosures, excessive debts and nagging collection phone calls are a person’s worst nightmares come true. The stress of mounting debt and a lack of financial stability places stress on the family budget, and makes it appear that is now way out. Is there a way out? Filing bankruptcy in many cases offers the perfect solution for your financial problems. A chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy can offer an individual the person a solution to stop the creditor phone calls, save your family home and gain control of your debt. Rob Dintaman at Fanger & Davidson LLC has the experience necessary to help you navigate the bankruptcy landscape and help you gain control of financial outlook.
How to File for Bankruptcy
Many people believe that bankruptcy is difficult, or negatively impacts your finances. Granted, some negative impact in the short term on your credit and finances does occur; however, in the long run When faced with foreclosure or any such financial hardship, the continued failure to deal with mounting debt causes even more negative impact. The filing a bankruptcy offers a workable option to relieve the stress of mounting debt on you and your family, and provide a legal way to get rid of your financial setbacks and place on a new path to set your financial outlook in positive direction.
A bankruptcy begins with a person filing a petition with the bankruptcy court. The petition provides a snapshot of the individual’s financial history, listing income, assets and liabilities. The petition also allows you to list exempt assets, (protected), from the reach of creditors including retirement funds, wages and your family home.
Your assets are divided into two categories according to their nature. They are:
- Exempt Assets: These assets cannot be realized to pay the debts. Examples include: some part of equity in your home and automobile, personal items, etc.
- Non-Exempt Assets: As the name suggests, these assets can be seized and sold to repay outstanding accounts. Home property other than the primary residence, recreational vehicles, boats, etc. fall under this category.
Likewise, your outstanding debts are classified into two types. They are:
- Secured Debts: These include loans in which the creditor has security interest in the property provided as collateral. The property bought with credit may be your second home, a boat or a car.
- Non-Secured Debts: These debts are not secured by property. For example, credit card debt, medical bills, personal unsecured loans, etc.
. An important protection offered individuals filing bankruptcy is the immediate protection from the harassment of creditor debt collection efforts, including phone calls, wage garnishments, bank attachments and the stop of the foreclosure of your home. The bankruptcy issues a mandatory stay to all of your creditors that prevent your creditors from laying their hands on you through property confiscation or foreclosure. The stay also prevents the creditors from pursuing a lawsuit against you. Ultimately, you receive relief from the stress of financial uncertainty, and allow you to gain control of your finances.
Which chapter is right for you?
Depending on your circumstances, you can choose to file between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 under the bankruptcy law.
Chapter 7
This liquidation option enables you to keep the exempted assets, whereas unsecured debts from credit cards, etc. are discharged. Here, the non-exempt assets are realized to repay the secured debts. However, debts of student loans, child support, taxes etc. will not be dismissed. This alternative is generally chosen by individuals with lower income and few assets, and more debts.
Chapter 13
Under this reorganization proceeding, you have to repay your debts over the specified period of three to five years through a logical repayment plan. The trustee collects the payments from you and transfers them to your creditors. Here again, you are permitted to keep your home, thereby preventing any looming foreclosure. This bankruptcy option is normally preferred by individuals who are interested in keeping their non-exempt property intact or who want to buy time against foreclosures or property seizures
This is where our experience comes into play. We can offer experienced consultation to decide how to proceed against your creditors, see the maximization of your exemption to protect your property form the reach of creditors; and, the appropriate bankruptcy chapter to file.
Conclusion
Declaring yourself bankrupt provides a practical solution to ending your money problems and gaining control of your financial outlook. With your all important credit score the key to obtaining many financial objectives in our lives, using bankruptcy reorganization offers a step in the right direction to restoring bad credit. Filing for bankruptcy is not as difficult as you think, and with the assistance of Rob Dintaman, at Fanger & Davidson LLC we can successfully help you through the bankruptcy process from start to finish. Ultimately, making the right move in the right situation can provide you with a needed respite from anxiety and debt.
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Robert E. Dintaman Jr.
Associate Attorney
Robert Dintaman is an Associate Attorney at Fanger & Davidson, where he devotes 90 percent of his practice to bankruptcy for individuals and business for the last two years. He has extensive experience handling bankruptcy and related asset protection techniques, which includes utilizing chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy case, from both the debtor and creditors’ perspective.
Prior to joining Fanger & Davidson, Robert operated a general practice law firm in downtown Cleveland, for 11 years, handling a wide variety of cases, from the plaintiff and defendants perspective, including criminal defense, civil litigation, probate & estate planning, business development and representation, personal injury and other matters.
Robert is currently a resident of the City of Lakewood, and enjoys outdoor activities and a wide variety of recreational sports.
EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
- Bar Admission Ohio
- J.D. University of Akron School of Law, 1998
- B.S. (Political Science) Ohio University, 1995
Are you looking for a law firm or would you like to discuss a legal issue with one of our attorneys? Our initial consultation does not cost you anything, and there is no obligation. If you have questions regarding how to best protect your interests, contact us today by clicking here.