Saturday, August 20, 2016

What You Need To Know When Filing For Bankruptcy In Chicago

By Ruth Schmidt


Bad spending habits, losing your job, or even just not paying attention to your financial situation, can leave you in serious debt. As these debts accumulate, some people will try to get help from friends or get loans, to try and get out of this situation, while others will not be bothered. At some point, running away from creditors may get too tiresome, and you might decide to file for bankruptcy in Chicago. Before taking this step, it is important for you to understand what will happen.

In order to determine which clause you should file under, you will need to do a means test. This will look at your gross monthly income, against the total amount of arrears you owe. Whether your debts are secured or unsecured will also have to be considered. Most people file under chapter thirteen or eleven. However, they are other options like chapter eleven and chapter twelve, but these are limited to specific creditors, and people specific professions.

When you file for bankruptcy, you are essentially declaring that you cannot pay your debts. However, it is important to keep in mind that not all kinds of debt will go away. Things like student loans, taxes or child support will remain and will require being dealt with.

Once you go ahead and file this case, the documents will be part of the public record. This might make some people wary of you, and might also cost you a few friends once the word gets out. For individuals who have many non-exempt possessions, this might be reposed by the court, to settle the debts.

Filing this case will affect you credit rating for up to ten years. This might make it difficult to get a loan, or to take a mortgage. However, there are some lenders who specialize in lending money to high-risk individuals at higher rates. You will also find that after clearing your debt, you can start working on rebuilding your credit.

If after reviewing all your options bankruptcy is still the best, then you will have to hire a lawyer. You should invest in getting someone who specializes in handling these cases. This way, you will be able to rest easy, while they handle your situation for you. You should do some research in order to end up with someone who is competent, and has a good reputation.

Getting good legal counsel is not free, but it should not be that expensive either. Most lawyers do not charge over one thousand dollars, but this price will differ depending on the complexity of the case. Stay away for attorneys whose charges seem too small, as these could compromise the quality of the work they do for you.

Even if your debts get wiped out, you still need to reevaluate your relationship with money to ensure you do not end up in debt again. This can easily be done by scheduling a meeting with a financial counselor, who can quickly detect the problem and give you a tailor made solution.




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