Law Office of Rick Morin, PC

Planning your bankruptcy is essential to getting your finances back on track. Consider these tips before you file:

1. Emergency Situations

Have you received notice of a lawsuit, garnishment, bank levy, foreclosure, or repossession? Bankruptcy will immediately stop these actions. In these emergency situations, your bankruptcy should be filed as soon as possible. Don’t just ignore a lawsuit, levy or garnishment. I can stop these things immediately for you.

2. Secure Housing & Transportation

Most bankruptcy filers have the opportunity to keep their cars and houses during the bankruptcy process. However, if you are planning on purchasing a different car or moving, it would be best to do prior to filing your bankruptcy case. Some landlords will not want to rent to you during the pendency of your bankruptcy case — and that can be about 3-4 months for a typical Chapter 7 case. After your bankruptcy is over, you will be back on track.

3. Consider Your Spending

The bankruptcy court will examine ALL of your financial information during your bankruptcy. In other words, one should generally not file for bankruptcy right after paying back their friends or family, making large cash withdrawals, or are expecting to receive an inheritance or legal settlement in the near future. If any of these things have happened recently, you should discuss with a qualified bankruptcy attorney before proceeding with your filing.

4. Check Your Income

The Means Test, which determines what chapter someone can file, will average the past 6 months of a filers income. Some of my clients have seasonal jobs or earn a substantial bonus / commission at the same time every year. In these cases, we can time the bankruptcy filing to optimize the chances of being successful in Chapter 7 or obtaining the lowest possible Chapter 13 monthly repayment. Timing is everything!

For most people, bankruptcy is a viable and compelling option for debt relief. If you have questions about when to file, or how to get the most out of your bankruptcy, please call my office. I can be reached at (916) 333-2222.