Understanding Bankruptcy laws and proceedings in Contra Costa County
Author: alex stuart
Bankruptcy is a growing concern for many homeowners and businesses in our lagging economy. Many people are losing their homes and livelihoods. People who are facing bankruptcy and facing the onslaught of court appearances and paperwork that bankruptcy can lead to, need to be represented by an experienced Contra Costa Bankruptcy Attorney.
Bankruptcy Law in Contra Costa County can discharge all of your debts or provide for the development of a repayment plan that allows a debtor to resolve his debts through the distribution of his assets among his creditors. This supervised division also allows the creditors to receive their distributions with some measure of equality. Certain Contra Costa Bankruptcy proceedings allow a debtor to stay in business and use revenue generated to resolve his or her debts. Bankruptcy law will also allow certain debtors to free themselves from the financial obligations they have accumulated, after their assets are distributed, even if their debts have not been paid in full.
There are two basic types of Bankruptcy proceedings. A filing under Chapter 7 is called liquidation. It is the most common type of bankruptcy proceeding. Liquidation involves the appointment of a trustee who collects the non-exempt property of the debtor, sells it and distributes the proceeds to the creditors. Bankruptcy proceedings under Chapters 11, 12, and 13 involve the rehabilitation of the debtor to allow him or her to use future earnings to pay off creditors. Under Chapter 7, 12, 13, and some 11 proceedings, a trustee is appointed to supervise the assets of the debtor. A bankruptcy proceeding can either be entered into voluntarily by a debtor or initiated by creditors. After a bankruptcy proceeding is filed, creditors, for the most part, may not seek to collect their debts outside of the proceeding. The debtor is not allowed to transfer property that has been declared part of the estate subject to proceedings. Furthermore, certain pre-proceeding transfers of property, secured interests, and liens may be delayed or invalidated. Various provisions of the federal Bankruptcy Code also establish the priority of creditors’ interests.
Meanwhile you may require the services of a qualified Contra Costa Bankruptcy lawyer who could represent you in Bankruptcy Court. For such services you can contact KorbLaw.com. Their Contra Costa Bankruptcy lawyers are experienced, knowledgeable and compassionate.. The filing of paperwork, documenting debts and assets, court appearancest and fulfilling the legal requirements are all handled by their expert bankruptcy lawyers. They can also help you negotiate with creditors and their lawyers. Richard Korb knows the law and its limitations and he will discuss the available options and strategies for the payment of debts on your behalf. For more details, please log on to: http://www.korblaw.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/debt-consolidation-articles/understanding-bankruptcy-laws-and-proceedings-in-contra-costa-county-2483407.html
About the Author
For any help regarding bankruptcy issues you need to contact an expert Contra Costa Bankruptcy lawyer. Contra Costa bankruptcy advisors are well informed of all the pros and cons concerned with Contra Costa Bankruptcy laws.
Is there any way to fight a garnishment without filing for bankruptcy?
Purchased a car in 11/2007. Engined failed next day/repair est. at about $3,000. Warranty refused to cover it/dealer refused to fix. State Attorney General said no lemon law protection for used cars in my state (Missouri). Auto shop then wanted $1500 for checking out the car (taking apart engine/reassembling). MO law allowed them to take ownership of car for non-payment. So we had car for less than a week and now owe $16,000 for car…and the garnishment has begun. PLEASE HELP!!!
if you file for bankruptcy while your checks are getting garnished can you get that money back at all? Thanks!
My brother-in-law told me that you can get your money back they took from garnishment once Bankruptcy is declared, is this true? I haven’t ever heard of that, and I’m guessing it’s only wishful thinking now, but I thought I’d come to the professionals first!
Wage Garnishment Laws for Single Moms?
My son was in an accident in 2005 and since then not only have I lost two jobs due to having to do treatments on him, but have had no insurance, lost two homes, was homeless for 10 months. It has been a nightmare. I have a permanent job finally but because my old address was a PO Box (homeless, remember?) the Post Office says by law they won’t forward my mail to my new address (I have an apartment now close to my job). That PO Box is 2 hours away and my car is having issues and I can’t make it there. Anyway, I am looking into bankruptcy but in the meantime want to see how to protect myself from wage garnishment. I am the head of the household and I did look at bfalliance.com and it only said federal laws applied in Tennessee to wage garnishment. Other states protect single Mom’s against this. Does anyone know anything at all that can help me here? I am at a loss. This black cloud just will not go away.
once a credit Card has garnished your wages, is it still possible 2 file for bankruptcy to get off garnishment?
My friend had a $4k credit card that never paid for, was served and did not show up to court, now his bank account was frozen and owes 18k, will he be protected under bankruptcy laws for that debt if filed?
does anyone know the kentucky laws on chapter7 Bankruptcy? 10 points.?
We took a renter to court for damages;won the case [settled for small claims court] she was orederd to pay 1500.00 in damages . a year had passed No pay no nothing.we went back & filed Wage garnishment her boss had sent 4 payments then we recieved a letter in the mail from [Bankruptcy office saying she had filed bankruptcy now they are ordering that the last check be repaid or He was gonna be taken to court .What can we do what are our rights . He is on Monthly Disability . can anyone help Thank You.
Sure….filing for Chapter 7 will stop wage garnishment…
Your friend learned a very bitter lesson about why it’s important to show up in court.
I’d frankly be a bit concerned how a $4K bill ended up being judgment of $18K…I realize that not showing up in court can subject you to big add on fees….but this is ridiculous.
Each state has different laws governing garnishment. So if you are facing such a situation, read your state law and find out how much of your pay check can be garnished. Most states limit the amount garnished to leave you what they consider enough to live on. Don’t ignore the court action. It is your only chance to fight the garnishment or make the payments something you can survive.
With out knowing your specific situation that is a hard question. Normally, I would recommend bankruptcy only when other efforts have failed. By other effort I mean a real budget, trying to work with your creditors, and selling of unneeded assets such as boats or a second property. If these have failed or are not an option, I would then recommend using a debt counselor or debt consolidation agency. If the counselor can find no new ways that you haven’t already tried, then a debt consolidation agency should be able to lower your payments to something you can afford. If your situation is truly critical, monstrous medical bills, loss of work with no employment in sight, then and only then, consider bankruptcy.
When a creditor obtains a judgment against you, he has several options to choose from to try and satisfy the judgment:
(1) The creditor will try to attach a lien against any property you own, such as your home. This does not mean you will be thrown out of your home, but rather, that you will not have clear title to your property after the creditor files a lien against it. The interest on the judgment lien will continue to accumulate over time, and if and when you sell your home, the creditor will receive the value of the judgment with interest from the sell of your home before you see any money, provided that the statute of limitations on collecting the judgment hasn’t run.
(2) The creditor can locate any monies you have in bank accounts and seize them. Don’t think that the creditor can’t locate the $5,000 you have in savings at your local bank. There are businesses who specialize in helping creditors and debt collection agencies locate all of your assets, including all of your bank accounts. If the creditor finds any money you have that is not exempt from seizure by your state’s laws, he will use his judgment to levy levy your bank account.
(3) A creditor might try to garnish your wages, particularly if you don’t own any property or have any money in savings. The federal government and many states have enacted legislation that limits the amount a creditor can garnish from your wages. The only way to avoid the wage garnishment is to resign from your job, find another, and hope that the creditor doesn’t locate you again, at least for a year or two. The creditor could force you into becoming a job hopper for the rest of your life in order to stay one step ahead of a wage garnishment.
Once the bankruptcy was filed the garnishment became void and you would have to repay the payment.~
PJ is wrong. A creditor does not have to repay money paid prior to receiving the bankruptcy notification/stay. Don’t know where he came up with that.
And sorry, you will not get your garnished money back. Again, whatever is collected prior to the bankruptcy notification is theirs to keep. Take solace in the fact that they will get a fraction of what you owe them from this point on.