Northeast Philadelphia Bankruptcy Lawyer

Filing for bankruptcy can seem like a frightening prospect. However, bankruptcy can offer an individual that is drowning in debt a fresh start. It is important to understand the multiple types of bankruptcy and which type of bankruptcy is best for your unique financial situation.

If you or a family member need assistance filing for bankruptcy in Northeast Philadelphia, contact our experienced bankruptcy lawyers today. Our attorneys understand the uncertainty involved with filing for bankruptcy, and we are prepared to guide you through the process. By filing for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can benefit from an automatic stay, preventing creditors from contacting you for payments. Then, within a few months or years, you can satisfy your debts whether through liquidation of your assets or a repayment plan.

Whether you are choosing to file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, our firm can ensure that you receive the legal representation that you deserve. To schedule a free case evaluation with the bankruptcy lawyers at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates, call us today at (215) 701-6519.

Benefits of Filing for Bankruptcy in Northeast Philadelphia

There are many benefits of filing for bankruptcy if you are struggling with overwhelming debt in Northeast Philadelphia. Contact our bankruptcy lawyers if you have recently fallen behind on payments to lenders and are having difficulty catching up. Our attorneys can explain the benefits of filing for bankruptcy, which include can provide immediate and long-term debt relief for debtors in Northeast Philadelphia.

Immediate Debt Relief

As soon as you file for bankruptcy in Northeast Philadelphia, an automatic stay will go into effect. This will prevent creditors from seeking payment from you in any way, including repossessing your car or requesting a sheriff’s sale of your property. When an automatic stay is in effect, threatening calls from creditors should stop. During this time, creditors are not allowed to engage in any debt-collection efforts whatsoever.

An automatic stay is often the immediate relief debtors need when trying to figure out their financial situation. Once an automatic stay is in effect and you can catch your breath, so to speak, our bankruptcy lawyers can create a plan for the future. Depending on the type of bankruptcy you can file for in Northeast Philadelphia, this might involve liquidating certain assets or devising a repayment plan to pay back creditors.

Long-Term Debt Relief

Filing for bankruptcy is not a Band-Aid solution. Instead, it is a legal process, signifying that you are committed to addressing your debt. By filing for bankruptcy in Northeast Philadelphia, you can start on the path to financial stability. Our bankruptcy lawyers can help you address all of your outstanding debt to creditors so that you do not have to continue dealing with harassing phone calls or financial insecurity. Instead of viewing bankruptcy as a last resort, think of it as a useful tool you can use to address debt, wipe the slate clean, and move forward with your life.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy vs. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Pennsylvania

Bankruptcy filings are separated into various categories referred to as chapters. Chapter 7 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy are the most commonly used chapters for individuals looking to file a bankruptcy petition in Northeast Philadelphia. Each of these chapters has different advantages and benefits that you should know about before filing for bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Many people prefer to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy because of how quick the process can be completed. Most Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings are resolved within 90 days of the initial filing.

To begin a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the debtor must file a bankruptcy petition with the bankruptcy court that manages cases where the debtor lives. If the debtor is filing a petition for their business, they must file in the state where they have their principal place of business. The debtor must also include the following information with their initial filing:

• The debtor’s assets and liabilities
• Documentation of their current income and monthly expenses
• Information about any contracts or leases the debtor entered into
• A statement detailing their financial situation
• A list of creditors that the debtor owes and the amount of the debt
• A list of property owned by the debtor

Once a debtor files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Northeast Philadelphia, they are assigned a case trustee that will oversee their case. Chapter 7 requires a debtor to sell certain assets in order to satisfy the debt owed to their creditors. The bankruptcy trustee is in charge of this sale and will distribute the proceeds of the sale to the creditors.

Some debtors may worry that they might lose all their property when filing for Chapter 7. However, there are exemptions for what can be sold during a Chapter 7 filing. For example, if the debtor owns a home, they may not have to sell their home to satisfy their debt.

After selling their property, the debtor receives a discharge of multiple forms of debt from credit cards to medical bills. In some unique cases, a debtor may even be able to discharge their student loans.

To be eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Northeast Philadelphia, you must pass a means test. Our lawyers can assess your income and finances to see if you qualify to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If so, our attorneys can help you discharge debts within a matter of months.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows a debtor to negotiate with their creditors to reorganize their debt in Northeast Philadelphia. The goal of reorganizing their debt is to consolidate their debts into a single monthly payment that will have a lower interest rate than their current debts.

The repayment plan gives a debtor a maximum of five years to pay off their money owed to creditors. However, in some circumstances, the court may permit the debtor to enter into a three-year repayment plan.

One of the biggest advantages of filing for bankruptcy is that a debtor can save their home from foreclosure. While the debtor will still have to continue paying their mortgage, they may have lower payments.

Once a debtor completes their five-year repayment plan, they will be discharged from debts owed to their creditors. If the debtor misses a payment on their repayment plan, this might negatively affect their agreement with the court and their creditors.

Remember, another benefit provided by filing for any type of bankruptcy is an automatic stay. An automatic stay prevents creditors from contacting you to collect their debts while the bankruptcy proceedings are still pending. This will give a debtor time to focus on their bankruptcy filing.

It is important to note that whether you file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a creditor may contest whether your financial situation is dire enough to support a bankruptcy claim.

Protecting Your Assets from Liquidation During Bankruptcy in Northeast Philadelphia

For many debtors in Northeast Philadelphia, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy seems like the easier route to take. Instead of making payments over the course of several years through Chapter 13 bankruptcy, debtors can simply liquidate their assets. That said, people often want to protect certain assets from liquidation, which our bankruptcy lawyers can help with.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is also known as liquidation bankruptcy. Apart from simply paying off debts, it is often the quickest way to regain financial stability for debtors in Northeast Philadelphia. While that is what often makes Chapter 7 bankruptcy appealing to debtors, the thought of losing certain assets may be concerning. Although that concern is understandable, our attorneys can work to protect some of your property during Chapter 7 bankruptcy and prevent it from being liquidated.

While Pennsylvania does not have a homestead exemption or a vehicle exemption for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it does have a wildcard exemption. This enables debtors in Northeast Philadelphia to exempt up to $300 in property from liquidation. While that may not seem like a lot, it might be just enough to cover outstanding car or mortgage payments that might otherwise result in your vehicle or home being repossessed or liquidated during bankruptcy.

Alternatively, our attorneys can help you use federal liquidation exemptions to protect your home, vehicle, or other property from liquidation in Northeast Philadelphia. When debtors do not contact our bankruptcy lawyers and remain unaware of possible exemptions available to them, they might lose certain assets when they file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Average Length of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Northeast Philadelphia

Regardless of the type of bankruptcy you file for in Northeast Philadelphia, once you do, the end to your financial struggles is in sight. Typically, Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a shorter process than Chapter 13 bankruptcy. That said, both enable debtors to rid themselves of overwhelming debt in Northeast Philadelphia.

Depending on the assets you wish to protect, the assets you are able to liquidate, and the amount of debt you owe to creditors in Northeast Philadelphia, Chapter 7 bankruptcy may take only a matter of months. Generally, the average length of Chapter 7 bankruptcy is four to six months. Our bankruptcy lawyers can give you a clearer idea of the timeframe for your case once they have assessed your financial situation.

In most cases, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is longer. That is because Chapter 13 bankruptcy works through repayment plans, according to a debtor’s income and ability to pay back creditors. Depending on the debt you owe, it may take three to five years for you to fully address debt through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan in Northeast Philadelphia.

Contact Our Experienced Northeast Philadelphia Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorneys Today

If you require assistance petitioning for bankruptcy, contact our experienced Philadelphia Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorneys. At Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates, our bankruptcy attorneys possess decades of combined legal experience, and we are prepared to offer you the legal representation you need to streamline your bankruptcy filing. To schedule a free case evaluation to discuss your bankruptcy filing, contact Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates at (215) 701-6519.