Rochester, Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorney

If you are drowning in debt and worried that creditors might take legal action against you, the time to act is now.

The Bodensteiner Law Office is a federally designated debt relief agency that can help you take charge of your financial situation. Bankruptcy triggers a freeze on further legal action by creditors – known as an automatic stay – which can temporarily impede harassing collections calls, eviction, foreclosure, repossession, bank levies or wage garnishment.

eviction

If you file for bankruptcy before your landlord initiates eviction proceedings, you may be able to remain in your apartment, rental or sublease for a few more weeks – at least until the bankruptcy court decides what to do about your debt. Depending on how many payments you’ve missed and your reasons for missing payments, the bankruptcy court may decide to reduce the amount of past-due rent you owe and allow you to stay in your unit. In the worst case scenario, you might be evicted but you will have had a few more weeks during which to make alternate arrangements.

If you are up-to-date on your rent and choose to file for bankruptcy, you are not required to notify your landlord of the upcoming bankruptcy proceeding. You will, however, have to disclose the amount of the rental deposit held by your landlord when you initiate your bankruptcy filing. As long as your deposit does not exceed the exemption limit, you are not likely to be required to cash-in your rental deposit to repay your creditors.

foreclosure

If you are behind on your mortgage payments and worried that the bank is about to foreclose on your home or if the bank has already started foreclosure proceedings on your home, it is time to talk to a lawyer about bankruptcy. You may be surprised to learn that, by filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your mortgage payments are brought current and you can take up to five years to repay the late payments with no further interest or penalties. The Bankruptcy Court has the power to discharge a portion of your mortgage debt, especially in cases where a homeowner owes more in mortgage payments than the fair market value of the property (i.e. the homeowner is upside down on the mortgage). It may even be possible to negotiate a mortgage loan workout that falls short of relinquishing ownership in your home, whether or not you’ve taken out a second mortgage or third mortgage.

repossession

The repossession of financed items – such as cars, furniture, electronics or appliances – can be physically crippling and financially devastating. By filing for bankruptcy, you can explain to a bankruptcy court judge why you need a reprieve from making payments for financed items. The judge will listen to you and assess whether to defer or discharge a portion of your debt so that you can continue to make payments. The judge takes into account whether you made good faith payments and adjust the terms of repayment if unexpected financial circumstances – such as layoffs, injury and medical expenses – caused you to default.

bank and wage garnishment

In most cases, a creditor would have to win a lawsuit to get a judge to issue an order permitting bank or wage garnishment. The order would then permit the creditor to contact your employer to garnish your salary or your bank to place a levy on your account. Filing for bankruptcy before the creditor has a chance to seize assets from your account puts an automatic stay into effect – keeping your creditor from siphoning off portions of your earnings without the express permission of a bankruptcy judge. A lawyer at the Bodensteiner Law Office can advise you of your legal rights and options, based on the status of the creditor and the type of outstanding loan.

creditor harassment

By law, all collections calls and late payment notices must stop as soon as you file for bankruptcy so long as a creditor has sufficient notice of the fact that you have filed for bankruptcy relief. Creditors must then deal directly with a bankruptcy judge in order to recover a portion of their outstanding loan. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act is the law that enables debtors to take action for violations of their right to be free from harassment once bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated. For each violation, the debtor might be entitled to monetary relief.

Eliminate debt

Portions of your debt may be discharged for pennies on the dollar when you file for bankruptcy. Other debts may remain exactly the same. But in general, you are likely to walk away from a bankruptcy proceeding owing less than you owed prior to filing. The Bodensteiner Law Office takes pride in guiding individuals, families and businesses through the bankruptcy process. Our attorney has the knowledge and experience needed to navigate the dangers and pitfalls associated with the following types of bankruptcy:

Chapter 7 liquidation — Liquidation bankruptcy does not leave you without the financial means to support yourself and your family. Even if the bankruptcy court requires you to liquidate some of your assets to repay your creditors, bankruptcy exemptions and exclusions allow you to retain the resources needed for financial recovery. A Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy gives you a clean slate from which to rebuild your credit without the overwhelming burden of repaying creditors.

Chapter 13 debt consolidation — As long as you meet certain income requirements and are willing to make one easy monthly payment to a bankruptcy trustee for anywhere between three to five years, you may get to keep a majority of your personal assets while avoiding the stress of unwelcome collections calls and late payment notices. Chapter 13 allows a bankruptcy court to discharge some and consolidate the rest of your debt into a more manageable monthly payment — but if you miss a payment, your creditors can still come after your personal possessions to recover a portion of their outstanding loans.  If you cannot keep up with the monthly payment due to job loss or unexpected circumstances, you should speak with your bankruptcy trustee to modify your plan or request a hardship discharge as soon as possible.  An attorney can also be useful to you under such circumstances.

No judgment. Just help.

If you are overwhelmed by unmanageable debt, the Bodensteiner Law Office stands ready to help. Our attorney— William L. Bodensteiner—has more than a quarter of a century’s worth of real-world experience representing both businesses and consumers in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings. He offers you the benefit of understanding your bankruptcy rights and options well before you step into Bankruptcy Court proceeding. Call (507) 437-7686 or contact us today to take advantage of a free bankruptcy case evaluation.

Call or contact us today!

Rochester Office: (507) 536-4929, Austin Office: (507) 437-7686, or Toll Free: (800) 464-0987