Arizona Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Protection

There are millions of people today facing financial problems and appear to have no immediate solution.  Their phone continues to ring, their mailbox is full of threatening letters and they do not know where to turn for help.  Fortunately, when it comes to financial problems, no matter how bad it appears, there is always a solution.

In order to find out the best solution for you, you need to contact the bankruptcy lawyers at the Arizona law firm of David Wroblewski & Associates to schedule a free debt evaluation.  If there are no other options, your attorney may recommend that you file for bankruptcy protection.  One type of bankruptcy protection is known as "Chapter 7" bankruptcy, which is also known as the 'liquidation' bankruptcy.  Below is a brief overview of this type of bankruptcy filing.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Filing under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code is generally known as the ‘liquidation’ bankruptcy.  The debtor who files a Chapter 7 the petition may liquidate his or her non-exempt assets, and use the non-exempt proceeds to pay off a portion of their debts and then has the remaining debt discharged by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which means that the debt is wiped clean.  Below is a brief procedural outline of a Chapter 7 filing.

• Filing of the Bankruptcy Petition, Statement of Financial Affairs and Schedules of Assets and Liabilities – You will need to work with your experienced bankruptcy attorney to file your Bankruptcy documents, which includes a full financial accounting of all of your assets, liabilities, income, expenses, exemptions and a lot of other pertinent information.
• Automatic Stay – An Automatic Stay is a term used to define what happens after your bankruptcy petition is filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.  Basically, the Court alerts your creditors of your filing and orders those creditors to immediately stop with collection efforts.  This means that the phone calls and letters will stop, along with foreclosures, repossessions and lawsuits.
• Meeting of Creditors – After your petition is filed and served on your creditors, you and your attorney will meet with the local bankruptcy trustee to assert that the information in your petition is accurate.  Creditors can also appear at this hearing to challenge the accuracy of certain debts, but many times this is a mere formality.
• Exemptions – Although you are required to liquidate your non-exempt assets in this chapter of bankruptcy, certain types of property you own are protected up to a certain amount so that you are not out on the street as a result of this process.  Examples of exempt property, up to a certain amount, include your primary home, your car, your pets, clothes, household goods, tools and supplied needed for work and certain retirement accounts.
• Discharge – Finally, after all the documents are filed and the Meeting of Creditors is complete, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court will formally order the discharge your debt that remains after your non-exempt assets are used to pay your creditors if necessary.

Your Next Step

Although at one time there was negative stigma attached to filing for bankruptcy protection.  In certain situations, it offers a fresh start that allows you to put your stressful financial situation behind you.  If you are tired of debt collectors calling you day after day and night after night, contact the bankruptcy attorneys at the Arizona law firm of David Wroblewski & Associates today.