Monthly Archives: June 2014

How Do I Stop a Credit Card Lawsuit?

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There are a number of ways to stop a credit card lawsuit and filing for bankruptcy is one of them. Unfortunately credit card interest rates have been allowed to become out of control. Every state has usury laws limiting the amount of interest a lender can charge. Many years ago the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled that a company doing business in one state can charge all other citizens of other states according to the usury laws of the state they are doing business in. This resulted in a few states getting rid of their usury laws and the result is 29% interest rates on credit cards and the rest is history.

Please continue to read this article for possible ways other than filing bankruptcy to stop a credit card lawsuit. Filing for bankruptcy protection initiates the entering of the automatic stay. The automatic stay stops any and all credit card lawsuits. It is possible for a credit card company to ask the bankruptcy court for permission to continue the lawsuit in state court. It is very rare for a credit card company to have the right grounds for the court to allow the lawsuit to continue in state court. When you file for bankruptcy protection before the credit card company obtains a judgment the underlying debt is still an unsecured debt that should be eligible for discharge. Whether you qualify to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case and discharge all of your debts depends upon your income, expenses, assets and sometimes the amount of your debts. During your free consultation will discuss your circumstances to determine how bankruptcy can help you. Just because you have the one lawsuit does not necessarily mean you have to file for bankruptcy protection though. If the lawsuit is only for $2,000 then filing for bankruptcy protection would not be cost effective. If you have other credit card debts, unpaid taxes, persona loans, repossession, foreclosure or wage garnishment then filing for bankruptcy will most likely be cost effective. If you do qualify to file a Chapter 7 case the actual case once filed should take 100 to 120 days. The only appearance you should have to make is the 341 meeting of the creditors. Bankruptcy is federal, so the court you appear at is the federal court for the district you live in, not the county state court. You will receive notice from us as soon as your case is filed and you will receive notice of the date and time of the meeting of the creditors directly from the bankruptcy court seven to ten days after the case is filed. We do our best to make the process as smooth as possible by providing you with updates throughout the process and providing checklists of the documents we need to draft a complete and accurate petition for bankruptcy protection.
There are other ways regarding how you stop a credit card lawsuit and it depends upon your circumstances. Of course the simplest but probably most difficult way to stop the lawsuit is to pay off the debt. Given the credit card company has filed a lawsuit means paying off the debt is not an option. Entering into an installment or payment agreement can stop the lawsuit under certain circumstances too. Again, this requires a payment to be made that is probably not possible. The credit card company will most likely want their attorney fees and costs paid for given they incurred this expense when filing the lawsuit. This will make it more difficult to make the payment each month. So this remedy is probably not possible.

Another issue is whether you were served with the summons and complaint properly. The credit card company must file a proof of service declaring under penalty of perjury how, where and when you were served with the summons and complaint. If the service was not proper then you could have the lawsuit stopped and make the credit card company serve your properly. The problem with this scenario is the credit card company will most likely be able to turn around and serve you properly and now you are right back where you started from. A lawsuit is pending against you.

Another issue is whether the underlying debt is even legally enforceable? In California a law now exists to make credit card companies or collection agencies verify they have a right to enforce the debt and that the statute of limitations has not run out making the debt legally unenforceable. If the debt is not legally enforceable then the lawsuit should be dismissed. There are a number of ways regarding how to stop a credit card company lawsuit. It all depends upon your circumstances.

What Does Bankruptcy Mean?

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What does bankruptcy mean is probably different to different people. It is possible to be bankrupt and not have filed for bankruptcy protection? Yes. Is bankruptcy the process of discharging debts or reorganizing debts? Yes. Can one be morally bankrupt and financially bankrupt? Yes and yes. So what does bankruptcy mean? The most common explanation is a business or a person has debts that are greater than their assets. Or a business or person cannot pay their bills as they come due each month. Insolvent is a another term that is used to describe being bankrupt. The most common use is to describe someone that has actually filed a petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, 9, 11, 12 or 13 of Title 11 to discharge or reorganize their debts. What does bankruptcy mean can best be answered by describing the process of filing for bankruptcy protection.

The first part of the process is finding the right bankruptcy attorney to help you. Do not use a bankruptcy petition preparer. Petition preparers cannot give you any legal advice and you cannot easily voluntarily dismiss a Chapter 7 case once everything goes bad after the case is filed. Once the Chapter 7 petition is filed you will most likely be stuck, so it is very important that all issues are discussed and you know what to expect before the petition is filed. You will pay more, but the extra expense of hiring an experienced attorney is priceless in the long run. Once you have retained counsel you will need to pay the fees and costs in full and then provide the necessary documents to draft and file an accurate and complete petition for bankruptcy protection.

Once of the most common questions other than what does bankruptcy mean is what are bankruptcy exemptions. Bankruptcy exemptions protect your assets when filing for bankruptcy protection. There are federal exemptions and states can opt out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions and create their own. Why are bankruptcy exemptions necessary? As soon as a petition for bankruptcy is filed a bankruptcy estate is created. Pursuant to section 541 of the Bankruptcy Code, property of the estate, includes basically all of your assets at the time the case is filed. There are exemptions for equity in homes, to protect vehicles, household goods, retirement account funds, clothing, jewelry and tools of trade. What does bankruptcy mean does not mean leaving someone with nothing after filing for bankruptcy. You will still have what you need to live life and recover. California in particular has generous bankruptcy exemptions.

What does bankruptcy mean also includes life after bankruptcy. For the most part your life will not change that much other than not having to struggle to pay your debts each month and being able pay your bills like rent and food easily each month. Bankruptcy means obtaining a fresh start at is core. It is not a head start or a jump start, but a fresh start financially. It will take time to rebuild your credit score, but your credit score was probably not so great before filing for bankruptcy protection anyway. The damage is usually done far before actually filing for bankruptcy. What does bankruptcy mean does not mean destroying your credit score. It means giving you the ability to make payment each month on your cell phone bill, rent and utilities so that you can rebuild your credit score.

Retaining the right bankruptcy attorney and actually filing for bankruptcy protection is never easy. What is right for you can only be determined by you. There are never easy answers to many questions. What does bankruptcy mean is many things and most importantly obtaining a fresh start and doing better financially.