Well, if you are a Lowes employee you may not be concerned with your debt. Lowes provides you with a great job and paycheck, so you are probably financially well off. But what if you dont show up for work and get fired? Then you would be concerned with debt. Probably bankruptcy too. Don’t worry. Here’s some help.
If you decide to file bankruptcy, you are not alone. Many people are being burdened with overwhelming debt. There is relief under the bankruptcy code. For most people, you can file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which is a straight bankruptcy. Chapter 7 will give you a fresh financial start. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy will get rid of unsecured debt including hospital bills and credit card bills and will also put an end to collection calls, garnishment of your wages and still allow you to keep your retirement accounts, home and car.
The basic steps for filing a Bankruptcy are:
1. Decide if bankruptcy is for you. Should you continue to pay creditors and be in debt for years. Or take advantage of the same legal system that debt collectors are using and get out of debt forever.
2. File for Bankruptcy. This step is best left to the experts. You can file yourself for about $400, but remember, this is a serious matter. Simply forgetting to file a form or not signing a bankruptcy document could get your case dismissed for improper filing. You also will have to list every debt you wish to discharge . If a debt is not listed, it won’t be discharged and you will still owe it. After filing you will be assigned a trustee that oversees your case. You rarely will ever see a judge or be in a courtroom.
3. Attend the meeting of creditors. This is known as the 341 meeting and takes place about 30 days after filing. This is held in a trustees meeting room not in a court room. Creditors rarely show up to this, but you must be there. The trustee reviews your filing and asks you to sign a few documents to verify your identity. If everything is in order the meeting will be over in about 30 minutes. No questions are asked about your financial condition or how you got there. The trustee simply looks at your current assets and debts. If you have an attorney they will be there with you. Creditors still have 30 days to make a claim after the meeting but almost never do.
4. Recieve your discharge of debts. After the trustee reviews your bankruptcy filing, they submit it to the bankruptcy judge. The discharge is ordered by the court of the bankruptcy judge, but like the 341 meeting, you do not have to appear in court. You will recieve your discharge in the mail about 60 days after the 341 meeting. Your debts are gone.
Remember, there are six types of bankruptcy in the United States:
- Chapter 7: basic liquidation for individuals and businesses; also known as straight bankruptcy; it is the simplest and quickest form of bankruptcy available
- Chapter 9: municipal bankruptcy; a federal mechanism for the resolution of municipal debts
- Chapter 11: rehabilitation or reorganisation, used primarily by business debtors, but sometimes by individuals with substantial debts and assets; known as corporate bankruptcy, it is a form of corporate financial reorganisation which typically allows companies to continue to function while they follow debt repayment plans
- Chapter 12: rehabilitation for family farmers and fishermen;
- Chapter 13: rehabilitation with a payment plan for individuals with a regular source of income; enables individuals with regular income to develop a plan to repay all or part of their debts; also known as Wage Earner Bankruptcy
- Chapter 15: ancillary and other international cases; provides a mechanism for dealing with bankruptcy debtors and helps foreign debtors to clear debts.
