Almost everyone has debts. Even a whole country borrows from an international fund or from other countries to sustain their needs. But not everyone can or has managed to keep up with paying their debts, especially with the current happenings worldwide. The pandemic has affected a lot of businesses and people. When things like this happen, it is inevitable to miss a loan payment for a month or two. Then it piles up, and it becomes non-manageable and stressful due to creditor harassment, an impending foreclosure, or repossession of property.
Before this happens to you, it is best to know your options. So, what are your options to pay off your debts?
Whichever option you take, make sure always to do your research and ask for legal assistance from a reliable bankruptcy attorney in Portland.
If you have missed some payments for your debts and getting back on track on payments seemed impossible somehow, then maybe you should file for bankruptcy. Yes, it will stay in your credit and significantly affect it, but declaring bankruptcy would be better than stressing out too much on avoiding constant calls from debt collectors and losing your property over an unpaid debt.
Under the United States bankruptcy code, when you file for personal bankruptcy in Portland, the bankruptcy court should:
The automatic stay is a provision in the United States bankruptcy law that temporarily halts debt collection by creditors, car repossession, a home foreclosure, and wage garnishment during the bankruptcy case.
The United States Trustee appoints a bankruptcy trustee to represent and handle your assets during a bankruptcy case.
If you have properties you wish to keep after bankruptcy, you are legally allowed to file for exemptions to protect those assets.
You will then be cleared from paying off your unsecured debts if you have passed the qualifications for a bankruptcy petition and the bankruptcy proceeding has successfully ended.
In filing a bankruptcy petition, you are legally obliged to list all of your properties and debts on the bankruptcy form. Not doing so will affect the outcome of your bankruptcy hearing. But you should remember that not all kinds of debts are qualified for discharge after a bankruptcy case.
There are different types of debts. A secured debt or debt with collateral which the creditors can repossess should you stop paying for it. Examples of secured debt are mortgage loans and car loans.
Another type of debt is unsecured debt or loans without collateral. This type of debt is also subdivided into two categories: priority and nonpriority.
There’s an ongoing discussion about whether the court should consider a student loan a priority or non-priority debt, and the bankruptcy court decides that. The court determines which debts are a priority and non-priority, and all debts that don’t fall under a priority debt are qualified to be discharged.
Yes, the whole process of filing for bankruptcy can be expensive. Still, it can also become time-consuming, and if you don’t know a lot of legalities or don’t understand the law that much, it might become a disaster and cause more significant problems in the future. Suppose you are still unsure what to do about your financial issues, and you need more help understanding your bankruptcy options . In that case, you may visit our Portland bankruptcy law firm and get legal assistance from our team of experienced bankruptcy lawyers.