Be Prepared for Banruptcy

We are bankruptcy attorneys we have offices located in Eastgate, Ohio, Middletown, Ohio and Centerville/Dayton, Ohio.  We specialize in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings.

Lets be realistic here, everyone knows when they are getting in over their heads financially, things are just going wrong, out of your control, so many factors could play into this situation and you know you have to do something to fix it, but most will just wait, keep their eyes closed and hope that nothing bad happens.  The creditors keep calling and the mail box is full of too many bills, you may hope that they will just away and forget that they they are owed money, unfortunately, this is never going to happen.  Creditors will relentlessly try to collect from you and every time they sell your loan the statute of limitations will begin again, debts do not go away on their own.

You need to follow the boy scout motto and "be prepared" if you know you owe debts and you have fallen behind or cannot make your payments there are steps you should be taking to protect yourself.  There is nothing worse than reacting to a financial crisis after it has occurred, such as a wage garnishment or bank levy.

You are able to obtain copies of your credit reports annually for free, you should do this.  Even old accounts could lead to lawsuit, as previously stated debts do not just go away on their own.  On your credit report be sure to check the public record section, this will show you if there have been any lawsuits filed against you.  Is your current employer listed on your credit report?  Collection agencies and creditors will do their best to search for this information and your credit report will be the first place they will look.

You do want to keep your bank accounts at a minimum if you have outstanding debts out there.  Today creditors can more easily levy bank accounts and no longer have to levy the branch where you opened your account.  They simply have to provide the corporate office with the judicial order authorizing the bank levy.  Once they levy your bank account most likely you will not be able to get these funds back even if you file for bankruptcy.

If there has been a law  suit you can contact the creditor and make a payment arrangement with them to possibly avoid wage garnishment or a bank levy.

But really what you most likely need to do is file for bankruptcy protection.  At our office we will offer you a free consultation and payment plan.  Once you retain this office you may refer your creditors to us and we will work with them until your case is filed.  Just retaining the office though, does not stop any current wage garnishments or bank levies.  You will need to pay your fees in full and file your case right away to stop these procedures.

Be prepared, don't just sit back and let the creditors take control of your financial destiny.  Take control of your own finances, bankruptcy is not the end of the world, usually things will look up after bankruptcy.  Many feel it is rock bottom, but this is not true, it will give you a fresh financial start, a re-do.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information check out our website at www.keeganandrade.com, www.middletown-bankruptcy.com or www.centervilleohiobankruptcy.com, as we have a office located conveniently for you.

Call us today for your free bankruptcy consultation.  We offer fair fees and monthly payment plans.

Bankruptcy and Foreclosure

We are bankruptcy attorneys we have offices located in Eastgate, Ohio, Middletown, Ohio and Centerville/Dayton, Ohio.  We specialize in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filings.  Our law firm has been serving Southern Ohio for more than 20 years.

FORECLOSURE

Sometimes we get in over our head, things happen that are out of our control. Job loss, a medical emergency or a number of other issues could put you into this out of control spiral.  You have to eat and keep on your necessary utilities so that you can live and sometimes when this happens you may fall behind on your mortgage payments.  This is a scary thought, but it happens.  You just want to hide under the covers and hope that this situation will go away, of course, that is not going to happen, but things usually do get better and seem to work themselves out.  You will still have time to fix things.  A mortgage company will not usually start a foreclosure proceeding against you until you get about 3 months behind on your mortgage.  Once a foreclosure is started it will take approximately 6 months for it to complete.  Once a foreclosure is complete then your home will be transferred out of your name and you will have lost your home.  But you can stop this process if you want.

Most times we are able to pull ourselves out of that hole.  You find a new job or go back to work after your medical emergency and now you are back on top, but you may still be behind on your bills and mortgage and still in danger of losing your home.  Once you become so far behind on a mortgage the lender usually will want all of the funds that you are behind on before they will stop your foreclosure proceeding.  Most people are not able to come up with this large sum of money..but don't worry there are still options.

CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY

Once you become so far behind on your mortgage as I stated above most lenders will want all of the funds you are in arrears with them.  Most people do not have these funds available, especially after rebounding from some medical or other catastrophic event in their lives.  This is when you need to come and talk with an attorney.  Chapter 13 bankruptcy is available.  Chapter 13 is able to save your home.  Once you are under the protection of chapter 13 your mortgage company must stop all foreclosure proceedings, you will be under the protection of the federal government.  In your case you will have 3 to 5 years to pay back the arrears to your mortgage lender.  Your mortgage company must comply with these rules.  They will have to file a document with the court called a proof of claim to be paid.  They will be paid all of the arrears you owe and your regular mortgage payments going forward.  These payments will be made by the Chapter 13 Trustee.  When your case completes the Trustee will file documentation stating that all payments and arrears have been paid in the case, at this time the mortgage company will have a chance to agree or object and once the case completes they can not come back on you for additional fees.  This is a good thing.

As far as your unsecured debts, chapter 13 can help you with that too, as you will be only paying back a percentage of these and all interest will stop.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information check out our website at www.keeganandrade.com, www.middletown-bankruptcy.com or www.centervilleohiobankruptcy.com.

If you are struggling with your mortgage or other debts call us today.  We offer a free consultation, fair fees and monthly payment plans.  We can help you get out of debt and save your home.

Bankruptcy is the best way out of debt.

We are bankruptcy attorneys we have offices located in Eastgate, Ohio, Middletown, Ohio and Centerville/Dayton, Ohio.  We specialize in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filings.

Are you struggling with debt?  Many Americans struggle with debt every year. Looking for the best way out of debt can be exhausting and time consuming.  The most common ways out of debt are debt consolidation, debt management, debt settlement, do it yourself and bankruptcy.  It is best to determine the best way out of debt for yourself.  But be careful, believe it or not there are many unreliable and even predatory companies out there that will take advantage of you if you're not careful.

In this blog we will cover these basic ways out of debt and I will show you why bankruptcy is the best way out of debt.

DEBT CONSOLIDATION

Debt consolidation is when you get a new loan to pay off your existing debts. The term "consolidate" means to group several things together into one, which makes sense since debt consolidation groups all of your existing debts into a new loan.  Doing this may lower your monthly payment and possibly your interest rate.

The problem with debt consolidation is you have not reduced your amount of debt, you have simply lumped all of your debt into one loan with one payment.  You are still accruing interest on this high balance and it will take years to pay off this single loan.

Entering into a Chapter 13 bankruptcy will also lump all of your debts into one low monthly payment.  However, in chapter 13 no interest will incur and you will only pay back a percentage of the debt you owe.

DEBT MANAGEMENT

A debt management plan is a program offered by companies or non-profit groups that say they will help you negotiate a new payment plan with your current creditors.  The debt management company will negotiate your debts with your creditors and you will make a monthly payment to the debt management company directly, while they will pay your creditors for you.

There are several problems with the debt management plan.  First and foremost an honest debt management company is hard to find.  Unfortunately not all of these companies are honest in what they are selling you and how they distribute your funds.  We have had more than one client say they paid to one of these companies without ever seeing their balances go down.

Bankruptcy is held in a federal court.  All bankruptcy attorneys are governed by their state bar association, which means we are legit and will not take your money and run per say.

DEBT SETTLEMENT

Debt settlement is when you work directly with your creditors and they will accept a lower amount of money than what you owe them.  You must have the full amount to immediately pay.  This is not too bad of a way out of debt, if you have the funds to do so.

Even if you do have the funds to do debt settlement, not all of your creditors may be willing to work with you and give you a reduction in the amount you owe, so you would not get anywhere in the process with these creditors.  Also, creditors who do settle with you will send you a 1099 at the end of the year and you will need to claim the amount that the creditor wrote off as income on your next tax return.  You will most likely end up owing the IRS and that is just not pretty and there is not quick way out of owing debt to the IRS.

If you file for bankruptcy even in Chapter 7 where you will wipe out all of your debt and not have to pay back a dime, you will not receive any type of tax documentation.  You do not have to list a bankruptcy on your tax return.

DO IT ON YOUR OWN

Aren't you already trying to do this?  Paying each month what you can afford to pay, but not really getting ahead.  It really depends on the amount of debt that you have if you will ever be able to get out of debt on your own.  If you don't have much debt, then this will be a great option for you.  Unfortunately, the average american household has $15,000.00 in credit card debt, not to mention medical debt.  This is really no small amount to pull yourself out of.

BANKRUPTCY REALLY IS THE BEST OPTION

Bankruptcy gets a bad rap in the minds of many.  Many think you have to be a deadbeat or scum of the earth to end up filing for bankruptcy protection.  This is not true, there are thousands of bankruptcies filed in the US each day.  Most are filed by families trying to get by, just like you.  Just because you file for bankruptcy does not mean that you are a bad person, just a regular person in a bad financial situation.

This is the fastest and easiest way to get out debt.  True, the bankruptcy filing will stay on your credit report for up to 10 years, but all of the options above will affect you for about the same amount of time.  The key to bankruptcy is afterwards paying all of your bills on time and not having debts go into collections.  You will be able to get new credit rather quickly if that is what you desire.  Under federal bankruptcy protection you can wipe out all of your debts and get a fresh financial start, without much penalty.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information check out our other websites at www.keeganandrade.com, www.middletown-bankruptcy.com, or www.centervilleohiobankruptcy.com.

Call your Southern Ohio Bankruptcy Attorneys today for your free consultation to see if bankruptcy is your best way out of debt.

New Bankruptcy Office

We are bankruptcy attorneys we have offices located in Eastgate, Ohio, Middletown, Ohio and now Centerville/Dayton, Ohio.  We specialize in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings.

We are proud to announce the grand opening of our office in Centerville/Dayton, Ohio.  The location of our new office is 

• 533 Windsor Park Drive
• LL Room 102
• Centerville, OH  45459

We are proud to expand our practice to other areas of the city.  This office will specialize primarily in bankruptcy.  You can contact our office to make a free consultation at 1-937-483-4010.  You will be able to sit down with one of or experienced bankruptcy attorneys to discuss your individual situation.  If you decide to move forward a small retainer fee will get things started and we will then accept monthly payments until your fees are paid in full.

BANKRUPTCY CHAPTERS

Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are the most common consumer bankruptcy filings.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is a total wipe out of all your unsecured debts.  You can discharge all of your unsecured debts through a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.  If you have secured debts you wish to retain such as a vehicle or home, you may retain these debts.  You must continue to make your payments on secured items that you wish to keep and be current on your payments.  If you do not wish to keep your secured items you may also file on these debts and surrender your collateral through your bankruptcy case.  There are income requirements that you must pass to qualify for a chapter 7.  The best advise is to contact our office make an appointment for your free consultation to see if you qualify.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a re-payment plan.  Chapter 13 is available for you if your home is in foreclosure or your vehicle is about to be repossessed.  If you are behind on your home or vehicle under Chapter 13 you will have three to five years to make the payments.  You will also pay on a percentage of your unsecured debts.  There are no income requirements for Chapter 13, however, you do need to have income to qualify for Chapter 13 as you must make monthly payments to the Trustee.

Each situation is unique.  Nobody is the same.  To understand which chapter you would qualify for you need to make your appointment for your free consultation.  As stated above at this free consultation you will be able to sit down with one of our attorneys and figure out the best financial option for your individual situation.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information check out our website at www.keeganandrade.com, www.middletown-bankruptcy.com or www.centervilleohiobankruptcy.com

Call today for your free bankruptcy consultation.

Bankruptcy

We are bankruptcy attorneys we have offices located in Eastgate, Ohio, Middletown, Ohio and Centerville/Dayton, Ohio.  We specialize in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings.

ARE YOU THINKING OF FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY

Are you thinking of filing for bankruptcy.  Looking for an attorney to represent you through the process?  Calling around to get a fee?  Looking for the lowest fee around?  Just remember that you get what you pay for.  Bankruptcy is a very specific process and must be done correctly so that your case will go through and you will receive your discharge through your case.  You do not want any snags and want everything to go through smoothly.  It is stressful enough when everything goes just right let alone when things are messed up.  Some believe that bankruptcy is simple, so simple that they can even take care of it themselves.  This may have been the case in the past but since the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) of 2005 things are much more difficult and more precise.  It is not recommended that you attack this task on your own.

Trying to file for yourself will most likely cause you more headaches than you would like to endure.  So the decision to seek an attorney to help you through the process is the best one.  You will want to find an experienced attorney who specialized in bankruptcy.

OUR LAW OFFICE

At the Law Office of Keegan and Andrade we specialize in bankruptcy, this is our main focus of practice.  Our office has specialized in bankruptcy for over 25 years.  We can provide you with the expertise that will make your bankruptcy seem simple and before you know you will be on with your debt free life.

 FREE CONSULTATION

At our office we will offer you a free consultation where you will be able to sit down and discuss your individual situation.  They will be able to advise you as to the best road for you to take on your financial journey.  Sometimes bankruptcy is the answer, sometimes it may not be the best decision.  The attorney will advise what is best for you.

At this free consultation the attorney will quote you a fee.  If you decide you want to move forward a small retainer will retain this office.  Once you have retained our office you will quit paying on bills you do not want to keep and refer your creditors to our office until your case is filed.  We will accept monthly payments until your case is filed.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information check out or website at www.keeganandrade.com, www.middletownbankruptcy.com or www.centervilleohiobankruptcy.com.

At your Southern Ohio bankruptcy office we will be able to help you get out of debt and get a fresh financial start!